Earlier this year, America united for the sake of our beloved 500-pound black bear Hank the Tank, who had been framed for breaking into a number of resident’s homes in the South Lake Tahoe, California, area.
We haven’t seen this kinda unity for an animal since the unfortunate death of Harambe, and the U.S. erupted in cheers when ol’ Hank was proven innocent.
However, it appears that the South Lake Tahoe area is still having quite the bear problem, as we’ve recently learned of this wild story that occurred in the exact area where Hank the Tank roamed.
According to Insider, some residents of a home in South Lake Tahoe had been hearing noises, such as snoring, underneath their house all winter long.
Luckily for them (or unlucky for them, depending on how you look at it), the house was not haunted or occupied by some squatter living in their basement…
It was a family of five bears hibernating underneath their house.
The BEAR League, a nonprofit dedicated to helping bears and humans “live in harmony,” posted the story on Facebook last Tuesday.
The organization wrote that when the bears woke up, the human owners of the home could:
“No longer deny there was probably a bear under the house.”
They added that when they arrived to the home, they found not only a mother bear, but four cubs as well.
The organization also noted that neighbors thought the owners were imagining things, as they did not hear anything.
BEAR League Executive Director Ann Bryant told the HuffPost that around 100-150 bears attempt to hibernate under homes in the Lake Tahoe area every winter.
She sent out this message:
“People really need to make sure their crawl space openings are closed and secured before bears go inside… especially in the fall, when they are looking for hibernation dens.”
Bears have been known to hide under decks, houses, garages and sheds.
Not the kind of surprise you want to find under there…
