A burglarious black bear in California responsible for at least 21 home break-ins in South Lake Tahoe since 2022 is headed to a wildlife sanctuary in Colorado.
The female black bear, known as 64F and nicknamed “Hank the Tank,” has a rap sheet that includes “at least 21 DNA-confirmed home break-ins and extensive property damage,” according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The bear, pending a successful veterinary check, will be relocated to The Wild Animal Sanctuary, near Springfield, Colorado, officials said.
The bear, which was captured and immobilized Friday by wildlife biologists, was headed to the Colorado sanctuary Monday, said Jordan Traverso, a spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife has approved the relocation, California wildlife authorities said.
“Relocation is not typically an option for conflict animals over concern that relocating an animal will relocate the conflict behavior to a different community,” according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The agency called relocating the bear an alternative that protects the bear, residents and visitors in South Lake Tahoe.
The bear’s three cubs, which were with the animal during recent break-ins, officials said, were moved to the Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue in Petaluma, California, officials said.
The cubs’ relocation is an attempt to “discontinue the negative behaviors they learned” so that they can be returned to the wild, officials said.
Bear 64F has been monitored closely by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife since 2022, the agency said.
Staff from the agency and the Nevada Department of Wildlife immobilized the bear and collected DNA. The animal was given an ear tag and a satellite tracking collar that helped officials linked the animal to the home invasions in Lake Tahoe from February 2022 to May, officials said.
Another bear is also making headlines. Iraq’s prime minister has called for an investigation about a bear that escaped its crate in the cargo hold of an Iraqi plane before it departed from the Dubai airport.
Iraqi Airways said Saturday that the bear’stransportation was carried out lawfully and according to International Air Transport Association standards.
NBC News could not immediately reach a representative with Iraqi Airways for comment Monday.
Iraqi Airways said that it wasn’t to blame for the bear’s escape. The airline also said that the aircraft’s crew worked with authorities in the United Arab Emirates, which dispatched specialists to sedate the animal and remove it from the plane.
A video circulating on social media shows the plane’s captain apologizing to passengers for Friday’s delayed take off because of the bear’s escape.
Iraqi Airways said the bear was being flown from Baghdad to Dubai. But a person speaking on the video clip on social media rounds suggested otherwise.
An Iraqi Airways official confirmed to The Associated Press the bear was, in fact, being transported to the Iraqi capital.
Keeping wild animals as pets has become popular among the wealthy in Baghdad.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
