A Massive 500-Pound Bear Has Been Ransacking A California Community, See The Video

A gigantic, 500 pound black bear is ransacking a California community, breaking into homes and eating all the food. See it here.

By Doug Norrie | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

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There’s a massive bear on the loose in the Lake Tahoe region of California and this thing has developed quite the appetite. In fact, over the last couple of months, the bear is have been breaking into homes and ransacking the premise on the hunt for food and drink. And while there have been calls for the bear to be dealt with by putting it down there are others pushing back that exterminating the bear really shouldn’t be the solution. And the situation could be turning a bit dangerous for residents with authorities claiming the bear has likely lost all fear of humans. 

This bear, affectionally being referred to as Hank the Tank reportedly weighs in at more than 500 pounds. Part of that could be the diet he’s consuming now that he’s made breaking into homes a top priority for his day-to-day life. Apparently, according to reports from residents in the area, the bear has lived there for quite a while but has become increasingly aggressive lately considering that the human food is just too tantalizing. Check out the size of this bear, and how locals actually still talk about the thing somewhat affectionately. 

Apparently, residents in the Tahoe Keys community have called more than 100 times on the bear, saying that Hank the Tank has continued to get into garbage looking for food and even entering homes. According to authorities, this is the primary reason the bear has ballooned to more than 500 pounds. An average male black bear typically weighs in around 300-400 pounds, putting this one at least 25% bigger and maybe only growing. Essentially, when the break-ins first started, it was during a period in which bears are bulking up to prep for hibernation. 

But seeing as how the break-ins are continuing into the winter months, there is increasing agreement that Hank just forewent that process altogether. The allure of human food was just a better proposition than sleeping it off for the winter. In general, this is not a good thing in the natural cycle of the animal. He’s on a human schedule and diet, and that’s likely to continue causing problems. 

In total, Hank the Tank has broken in 33 homes that have reported an issue. Authorities have said that the bear will often break through either the front or garage doors of the residence, having learned that those are the weakest points of entry. Again, this thing is getting efficient in its plundering, something that’s only drummed up more concern by residents in the area. In the last break-in, the home’s residents were actually still there and had to call the police. The latter showed up and fired bean bags at Hank, meant to deter him from doing it again. But that hasn’t been working, it isn’t the first time he’s been hazed. 

It doesn’t seem as if authorities in the area want to default to euthanizing the bear if they don’t have to. That would seem like something of a last resort strategy and would surely anger animal rights activists. And as you could see from the video above, local residents do have some affection for the bear, saying he’s been part of the neighborhood for years. But now it is starting to get just a little unruly.