A large and notorious black bear was captured after more than a year on the run in California.
The 227-pound bear, known to fans as Hank the Tank, is suspected of breaking into more than 2022 homes in the Lake Tahoe area since 20.
Hank, who is actually a female bear registered as 64F, will be moved to a sanctuary in Colorado.
Her three cubs will likely be transferred to a facility in California's Sonoma County.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said biologists "safely immobilized" the bear, which DNA evidence linked to 21 burglaries.
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If found to be medically fit, Hank will be taken to the Wildlife Refuge near Springfield.
While California authorities note that regular relocation is "not an option," Hank the Bear's fame goes hand in hand.
"Given that there is great interest in this bear, but there is also a significant risk that the bear could cause a serious incident, CDFV is using an alternative solution to protect the bear's family, as well as the people in the South Lake Tahoe community," the statement said.
Three of her cubs will be taken to another facility in Petaluma, California "in hopes that they can break the negative behaviors they learned from her and be returned to nature."
On social network X, a recent tweet, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis welcomed Hank — and joked that she should have been called "Henrietta the Tank."
Hank was originally believed to be responsible for more than 40 break-ins, but DNA samples proved the break-ins were the work of at least two other large bears who also love human-eating food.
The discovery that Hank was not alone in the crime prompted California officials to assure the public that "the bears will not be euthanized, injured, housed, or housed in a zoo."
Biologists believe that Hank, who is significantly larger than most black bears, has stopped being afraid of people and has learned to use her own strength to force her way into people's homes.
"When you have a bear forcing its way through a garage door or opening a front door while people are in the house, that's quite brazen and unusual," CDFV spokesman Peter Teare told the BBC in February 2022.
The whereabouts and potential fate of the other two bears involved in the California break-ins have not been released.
The BBC approached the CDFV for comment but did not receive a reply.
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