Update on the Real Hank the Tank or is it Henrietta?

I have an update on the infamous bear who is the subject of my book, Hank the Tank: Animal in the Spotlight. Hank was back in the news this past summer after being captured in Lake Tahoe and has received a name change. Hank is now Henrietta. How and why did this happen? 

According to the Wild Animal Sanctuary NEWS and an NPR Report from August, DNA evidence proved that one of the “Hanks” in the news in 2022 was a female, which the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) identified as Bear 64F. By monitoring the bear with a tracking collar, authorities determined that she was responsible for 21 or more of the fifty bear invasions between California and Nevada in the Lake Tahoe Area. According to NPR, she spent the winter months in a den under a home in the Tahoe Keys.

Due to intense public support, the life of Bear 64F was spared. After being captured by CDFW in the summer of 2023, that agency, in collaboration with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, allowed The Wild Animal Sanctuary (TWAS) to transport the bear to a 230-acre Wild Animal Refuge outside of Springfield, CO. When she arrived, she got a beautiful new home and a new name – Henrietta. Unfortunately, this type of rescue is the exception rather than the rule. Hundreds of "nuisance bears" are euthanized every year, and places like TWAS can't possibly rescue all of them. Not only that but relocated bears tend to either try to find their way back home or wreak havoc in their new location.

The Wild Animal Refuge is a beautiful 230-acre wooded property in Colorado. Henrietta will receive plenty of food, so they are expecting she will be content to stay put. It is one of the properties belonging to The Wild Animal Sanctuary. Although visitors are not allowed at the Refuge, they are welcome and encouraged to visit the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, CO. It is located about 30 miles north of Denver and is open almost every day of the year. Ticket sales and donations help to support the mission of this important non-profit charity. If you can’t visit in person, check out their website at www.WildAnimalSanctuary.org and read about other exciting animal rescues.

To learn more about the story behind Hank and Henrietta and to learn what you can do to help keep bears wild, check out my book, Hank the Tank: Animal in the Spotlight and the 164-page Activity Book. Watch for the Audio Book coming soon. If you purchase books at Bookshop.org. proceeds may go to your favorite local bookstore. Hank is also available through Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Read about a special gift I have created for my readers HERE. It is based on the adventures of Hank and Henrietta and includes a student Illustration Caption Contest. Sign up for my newsletter HERE and receive a free copy of my first decodable book, No Gift for Man.