'Gentle' 500lb black bear dubbed 'Hank the Tank' is seen searching for next meal in Lake Tahoe

A gigantic bear nicknamed Hank the Tank has shot to fame in Lake Tahoe after he was caught on camera rifling for scraps - but one conservationist says she fears officials will kill the huge animal instead of rehoming him.  

Hank, who weighs 500 pounds, was caught on security footage wandering around Lake Tahoe homes in search of a meal bigger than his appetite. The bear has been spotting in the neighborhood more than 100 times since July and nothing - not even loud noises, paintballs, or Tasers - can scare him off. 

Local residents have described the animal as 'gentle' and said he just eats and leaves without causing any trouble. But wildlife officials say locals have made Hank too bold by leaving out unsecured food scraps for him to eat.

And they now fear the bear - who is up to five times bigger than a regular member of his species - could hurt someone if they get too close. 

'He doesn't attack [people]. He doesn't growl. He doesn't make rude faces,' a local resident insisted, according to TMZ. 

However, not everyone is too fond of having a 500lb teddy bear roaming the streets. A spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Peter Tira told The New York Times: 'This is a bear that has lost all fear of people. It’s a potentially dangerous situation.' 

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Hank the Tank, a 500lb bear, is terrorizing a community in Lake Tahoe, California 

Hank was caught on home security footage in Lake Tahoe wandering around looking for his next meal 

Although Hank didn't enter the home, he has done so in the past. The bear has been spotted more than 100 times in the neighborhood since July and has prompted more than 150 calls to law enforcement 

Local authorities are reportedly trying to trap the animal and get him into a sanctuary, but some conservationists are worried Hank will be slaughtered before he can be taken to a safe place, if he does end up having an aggressive encounter with a human. 

Wildlife officials have tried to tamper Hank's wave of destruction by setting up traps but have been unable to contain him. 

'The trapping activity is a measure of last resort to capture and euthanize a specific and what we call a severely habituated or human-food conditioned black bear,' Tira noted.

There was outrage from residents over the bear hunt and even attempts to scare the bear away from the area by playing noisy music or even spray painting the phrase 'Bear Killer' on the trap, even though Hank can't read. 

A pro-bear activist group, The BEAR League, has been working with wildlife officials to try and get Hank to a safe new home.  

'The BEAR League reached out to the director of an excellent out-of-state wildlife sanctuary who agreed he has room and would be very willing to give this bear a permanent home,' said executive director Ann Bryant. 

'We notified [the California Department of Fish and Wildlife] on Tuesday morning asking that this option be seriously considered rather than killing the bear.'

California wildlife authorities are facing numerous complaints from residents in the resort town of Lake Tahoe as the bear has prompted more than 150 calls to law enforcement and wildlife personnel in the area of late.   

'This one individual bear has been linked to property damage at 38 different properties at least,' Tira told KCRA 3 in Sacramento on February 17.

Authorities add that the curvy cub has caused 'extensive property damage and forcefully entered several homes - including occupied homes.' 

A home in California that has faced Hank's wrath

A pro-bear activist group, The BEAR League, has been working with wildlife officials to try and get Hank to a safe new home. This trap has been vandalized in an apparent attempt to deter Hank - even though he can't read 

Not only is Hank's giant appetite making him come back, but ease of access to improperly secured trash. 

Bryant notes that sanctuaries are not a full-time solution and wants Tahoe residents to practice prevention. 

'Homeowners and visitors need to do their part to keep the bears out of trouble so they can live wild and free,' she said. 

'The various reasons that the bears get into trouble is because people do this and they teach the bears that's a good way to make a living.' 

There was outrage from residents over the bear hunt and even attempts to scare the bear away from the area by playing noisy music or even spray painting the phrase 'Bear Killer' on the trap

The bear has caused caused 'extensive property damage and forcefully entered several homes - including 'occupied homes'

This is another recent example of a bear attack on the west coast.  

An Oregon man took his own life after he accidentally shot dead his brother when he tried to defend himself against a black bear in his yard.   

The unidentified man was loading up his gun around 7am on February 8 when he 'accidentally shot his brother,' the Josephine County Sheriff's Office said. 

Police deputies located the man's brother with gunshot wounds at a residence in the 2000 block of Placer Road in Sunny Valley. Upon 'checking the residence,' officers found the caller 'with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.' 

'It is believed the caller took his own life after calling 911 to report the accidental shooting,' the police report read. 

The investigation is ongoing and has been passed to the Oregon State Medical Examiner's Office.

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office responded to a call on a the 2000 block of Placer Road on Tuesday when a man called to report that he 'accidentally shot his brother' while he was trying to load a gun to protect them from a black bear on the property

Deputies found the man with a self-inflicted gunshot wound on the property and believes 'the caller took his own life,' the police report said 

The Sheriff's Office told DailyMail.com on February 10 that there is 'no further information available' at this time. 

A bear sighting isn't rare in the state, which is home to around 25,000 to 30,000 black bears, according to the Josephine County Parks Department, which calls Oregon 'Black Bear Country.'   

The Parks Department said bear attacks are 'uncommon' and the animals typically 'avoid human contact,' but reminds the public that it is 'never safe to approach a bear.'