How much does Hank the Tank the bear weigh?

A CALIFORNIA black bear dubbed Hank the Tank has residents scrambling for the bearings after a string of face-to-face encounters with the beast.

Fortunately, Hank has not harmed any humans during his forages in trash cans and homes.

Hank the Tank is much rounder than the typical muscular and imposing black bear

How much does Hank the Tank the bear weigh?

Reporting by the New York Times on Hank the Tank says that the black bear weighs 500 pounds. 

Hank has gotten so large not from his normal diet of berries but from eating food made for humans. 

The accessibility of leftovers and scraps has drawn Hank into places where food has been left out–places where the bear isn’t necessarily welcome.

Tweets from an NBC-news affiliate show that Hank has plundered several homes.

Some community members are showing affection for Hank and saw to the removal of a bear trap set up for Hank.

The New York Times concluded with a statement from a bear conservation expert who said “Why should this big dummy die?”

When was the last fatal bear attack in the United States?

During American westward expansion, settlers battled with the 11-foot short-faced bear and its incredible bite force.

Today, physical incidents with bears are relatively rare but can be brutally violent.

According to PetPedia, there are just 40 bear attacks around the world annually.

The last fatal attack in the United States was in April 2021, when 39-year-old Laney Malavolta was mauled by a bear in Colorado.

Timothy Treadwell’s death was captured in a haunting audio recordingKobal Collection – Rex Features

Who was Timothy Treadwell?

Timothy Treadwell was an American environmentalist and nature documentarian who lived among a group of Kodiak bears with his girlfriend.

He developed a report with a specific  group of bears, and footage shows Treadwell palling around with the bears as if they were dogs. 

Treadwell and his girlfriend were eventually killed and consumed by a bear that Treadwell was not familiar with.

Accredited filmmaker Werner Herzog made a documentary about Treadwell’s experiences and death, titled Grizzly Man.