One of essentially the most prolific thieves within the South Lake Tahoe, Calif., space was “safely immobilized” by tranquilizer dart and apprehended Friday morning, in keeping with state officers: a 400-pound black bear that the general public had come to know as Hank the Tank.

The captured bear was liable for a minimum of 21 DNA-confirmed residence break-ins and in depth property harm in Tahoe Keys courting again to early 2022, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife mentioned in a news release. The bear shall be transported to an animal sanctuary in Colorado this week.

Based on visible observations made by residents throughout a string of rummaging and ransacking incidents courting again to 2021, the general public initially thought “Hank the Tank” was one male bear. But the bear that was captured on Friday, a feminine identified to the state as 64F, is one of three bears responsible for a number of the space break-ins that had been attributed to Hank.

“I guess they all technically are ‘Hank the Tank,’” Jordan Traverso, a spokeswoman for the division, mentioned. She mentioned the “other Hanks” haven’t “presented themselves as problems” this yr in Tahoe Keys, a gated neighborhood about 190 miles northeast of San Francisco.

This feminine Hank, nonetheless, was energetic, at-large — and “exceptionally large,” in keeping with state wildlife authorities.

For over a yr, this Hank had terrorized members of the neighborhood, ripping off display doorways and elements of storage doorways, rummaging by way of rubbish bins, climbing stairs and scratching up vehicles, prompting dozens of calls to the police. At one residence within the space, Ms. Traverso mentioned, Hank ripped off siding in order that she may entry a part of the home from beneath.

Bears are “incredibly adept with their hands,” able to opening latches and doorways, Ms. Traverso defined. “They know what refrigerators look like, and they know what’s in them.”

The common black bear within the Western United States weighs 100 to 300 kilos, in keeping with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. In ransacking houses and rummaging by way of trash cans, Hank realized that she may shortly entry 1000’s of energy directly. Her three cubs, together with one believed to have been critically injured by a automobile, accompanied the bear on current break-ins, and so they had been additionally captured on Friday, the authorities mentioned.

The state wildlife division hopes to rehabilitate the three younger cubs by sending them to the Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue, about 200 miles west of South Lake Tahoe. The division mentioned it supposed to launch the cubs again into the wild.

Their mom shall be moved this week to the Wild Animal Sanctuary close to Springfield, Colo., the place she’s going to reside in a 300-acre habitat that’s fairly much like the atmosphere she knew in California.

“The only difference is, we deliver the food,” mentioned Pat Craig, the founder and govt director of the sanctuary, including that Hank was anticipated to reach there on Tuesday.

Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado welcomed Hank to the state on social media, saying she “turned out to be Henrietta the Tank.”

Hank’s circumstances are “pretty rare,” as most “problem bears” are euthanized, Mr. Craig famous. He estimated “anywhere from 300 to close to 1,000” are put down annually within the United States.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife mentioned in its assertion that it pursued “an alternative solution” for the bear they name 64F, or Hank, “given the widespread interest in this bear.”

Even so, Ms. Traverso mentioned that, ideally, wild animals “remain wild forever.” She urged individuals residing close to areas inhabited by bears to safe their rubbish, to select up fruit that falls from timber and to chorus from placing out fowl feeders. Humans are the “controllable factor,” she mentioned.