Amy Love

Opinions Editor 

aml7458@psu.edu

In the Lake Tahoe area of California, there have been numerous break-ins to houses during the past several months. Since July 2021, a 500 pound black bear has been forcefully entering people’s homes and ransacking their kitchens. The bear was pinned with the crimes of invading 28 homes and causing an extreme amount of damage to 33 properties. 

The public has nicknamed him “Hank the Tank”, who is easy to spot due to his larger size and dark-brown fur, with a snout that is a lighter shade than the rest of his body. 

At first, authorities mentioned that Hank may be euthanized. Their decision was justified on the fact that they deemed Hank to have lost his fear of people and that they believed he now associated people with access to food. 

Many individuals disagreed with the idea of euthanizing the big bear, including the organization Bear Education Aversion Response, or BEAR League. Ann Bryant, the executive director of the league, said: “The BEAR League is vehemently opposed to this plan, and we are frantically working to save his life by reaching out to various wildlife sanctuaries in hopes of finding him a safe home.” 

Luckily, any plans to euthanize Hank have been scrapped. It was not because someone found a place to rehome him, but new evidence released as of February 25 shows that Hank the Tank was not single-handedly doing this. Based on DNA evidence, there are at least three bears responsible for the home invasions, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. 

This new information caused the department to rethink a new plan and they have stated that they “will trap bears in the South Lake Tahoe area, tag them, collect evidence for genetic analysis, and then release them into their appropriate habitat.” 

The department’s response to the break-ins being done by at least three bears should have been the original response when everything was solely pinned onto Hank the Tank. 

The bear was doing what it needed to in order to survive. He was searching for food and he found it where the people were. There are precautions that are put into place so that bears do not end up associating food with humans. 

For example, when camping in the Lake Tahoe area, everything must be contained in items that are bear-proofed. When living in a vicinity where bears are common, there are certain measures taken in order to prevent the bears gaining an idea that there is food there. For instance, some communities at least encourage residents to have a bear-proof trash can rather than an ordinary one. Bears are not able to search through the trash, therefore eliminating the possibility of them becoming dependent on food from humans. 

In fact, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is encouraging everyone to properly dispose of their trash. 

Hank the Tank, or any bear, is not doing anything wrong when they are searching for food. There are some people leaving their food out, practically leading the bears to them and getting upset when they make themselves known. 

Bryant, regarding Hank the Tank, said “He just sits there and eats. He doesn’t attack them. He doesn’t growl. He doesn’t make rude faces.” 

Out of every incident that has happened with the bears, not a single report of an attack on a human or pet has been recorded. They have not done harm to a living object, only houses. 

This does not justify a reason to euthanize any animal, especially when there are so many other options. 

People need to understand that especially when living somewhere near the Lake Tahoe region, there will be bears and other wildlife. There needs to be an understanding of coexisting and taking necessary precautions that allow the wildlife to continue to thrive in its natural habitat. 

The bear does not know any better, but the individual does. There are people who are creating this problem and crying wolf when the wildlife gravitates towards them for food. Some people need to understand that they are living in their habitat and need to cater around the wildlife, rather than having an expectation that the wildlife knows to stay away.