Bears captured after string of break-ins at Lake Tahoe homes

California authorities have captured four suspects in multiple break-ins at homes around South Lake Tahoe: a 225-kilogram mama bear nicknamed "Hank the Tank" and three of her cubs.

DNA confirmed the large female black bear and her three little accomplices were responsible for at least 21 incidents of property damage since 2022.

The mother bear and her babies were "safely immobilised" on Friday, a Department of Fish and Wildlife statement said.

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The adult female, known to researchers as 64F, is set to be taken to a sprawling wildlife sanctuary near Springfield, Colorado.

Her cubs could end up at a rehabilitation facility in Sonoma County, California, "in hopes they can discontinue the negative behaviours they learned from the sow and can be returned to the wild".

64F, who was outfitted with a tracking device earlier this year, is one of three adult bears identified last year as being responsible for 150 incident reports, including property damage, in the lake region straddling Northern California and Nevada.

Originally it was believed that a single, large black bear the public nicknamed "Hank the Tank" had been breaking into homes.

Eventually, Fish and Wildlife announced that it was actually three separate bears responsible for the mayhem.

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"Twenty-one break-ins is really pretty significant, and it's a very much learned behavior and it does not look like it can be rehabilitated," said Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Jordan Traverso.

That usually means the bear would have to be put down, but based on the interest of the public, Fish and Wildlife worked out a deal with the animal sanctuary where she will live out the rest of her life.

The cubs have a different fate.

"There's no hope that we would be able to rehabilitate that sow, while there is hope we will be able to re-release those cubs into the wild," Traverso said.

While the bear family will split up, the cubs will be sent to a rehab centre in Sonoma County where they will learn how to live in the wild.

"Sanctuary life is not ideal," Traverso said.

"Getting them back into the wild is the best plan."

It beats the alternative.

"This rarely happens," said Anny Bryant, executive director of the Bear League.

"Bears are not relocated, they are usually killed when they're designated as problem bears."

Bryant said this alternative is a gift.

"This is not going to happen every day," Bryant said.

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She said Tahoe residents must learn from it.

"They need to step up and keep bears out of trouble. Lock their doors, lock their windows, don't let them in," she said.

"Don't put bird feeders out. Don't leave your garbage out or there's going to be bears that are going to die."

With agencies