California Town Barely Hanging On as 500-Pound Bear Called ‘Hank’ Presents Nuisance

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A 500-Ib. bear has reportedly put a California town on alert as it has been breaking into homes and eating pizza and other food.

The bear, named Hank the Tank, has roamed through South Lake Tahoe and has withstood deterrents including “paintballs, bean bags, sirens and Tasers, but he is too drawn to humans and their food to stay away for long,” reported The New York Times on Sunday.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Peter Tira explained to CBS News why the bear has yet to be caught.

“These are neighborhoods, there’s a lot of people around, traffic and cars. So, we have to do this in a way that is safe for both the public and the bear itself,” he said. “This is a severely food habituated bear. What that means is this is a bear that has lost all fear of people and it sees people and homes as a source of food.”

According to the Times:

Residents have called the police about Hank more than 100 times since July as he continues to rampage through Tahoe Keys, a gated community about 190 miles northeast of San Francisco.

Now the authorities are trying to trap Hank and possibly euthanize him.

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Hank, so named by local residents, has used his size and strength to barge through garages, windows and door. As of Thursday, Hank had broken into at least 28 homes.