Tahoe Black Bears Out of Hibernation, Scouring for Food

The seasons are changing and mother nature is truly aware of the shift. One of the best indicators that winter is coming to a close (besides the sunny days) is the hungry bears who are out of hibernation looking to score a nice bite to eat.

We all remember Hank the Tank right? She made national news as one of the biggest black bears in the country at an estimated weight of 500 pounds.

At 500 pounds she was quite the silent mover; a master of breaking and entering, the smash and grab, and the five finger discount. In 2022 NPR reported that Hank broke into 28 homes and 152 reports of conflict behavior.

Her long track record eventually caught up to her, and she was apprehended with her cubs and relocated to Colorado. There was talk of euthanizing the bear, but public opinion was strongly in her favor.

I’ll spare the sad details of her fate in El Dorado County, but you can check it out in this NPR article .

Hank was tagged as a “severely food-habituated bear” by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which means that Hank had lost her fear of people and solely associated habitual bipedal humanoids with food.

Her natural instincts were perturbed by a number of human irregularities, starting with the decimation of her natural habitat, constant interaction with people, and unnatural food options.

Why chase after natural food when you can easily smash a window and grab enough Doritos for a whole week?

However, this issue is common with a number of the Tahoe area bears because of the ease of access to trash cans and unsecured or vacant homes stocked with food. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife estimates that 15% of bears in the area don’t hibernate because of access to year round food.

It was also reported that this winter there was a record number of bears “evicted” around Tahoe. This video from CBS News Bay Area explains it all.

“The problem isn’t that there’s more bears, but there’s more people,” explains the video, and that “a majority of the evictions are happening at vacation homes.”

They urge you to be cautious and secure your homes, food, and trash.

I mean it’s hard to blame the bears. They’re animals whose natural cycle of life is being disrupted more and more by the increase of human interaction and land development.

However, they still tend to get a bad rap and are subject to a false perception by people in general.

The Tahoe Interagency Bear Team (TIBT) recently posted an article debunking misinformation about bears and their habits including the false ideas that bears need human help hibernating, finding food, and that they belong in neighborhoods.

There’s already some videos going around of bears opening car doors and rummaging for food like this one.

So, as spring unravels more and more bears will be out looking for food and water. We urge you to remember that bears are wild animals and should be treated as such.

While black bears are naturally peaceful compared to their grizzly bear counterparts, which do not live in Tahoe, they are not and should not be subject to being approached, named, or cared for by humans.

Visit tahoebears.org for more information.