A 500-pound black bear with an insatiable hunger is being hunted by California's wildlife agency for reportedly breaking into multiple homes while looking for food, according to local reports.
The bear has been seen roaming the Lake Tahoe area. While the wildlife agency wants to kill the animal, several animal advocacy groups oppose the decision and are calling for the beast to be moved to a sanctuary instead, CBS Sacramento reported.
The bear has reportedly damaged 38 homes in the South Lake Tahoe area, according to a spokesperson with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The agency has placed large container-sized traps in the area with the intent to put the bear down once captured.
One advocate fighting for the bear's life, Toogee Sielsch, shared with South Tahoe Now that the animal has broken down doors with people still inside their homes.
Sielsch added that the situation is dangerous, but "it breaks my heart."
The executive director of the Bear Education Aversion Response League shared with CBS that alternatives to killing the bear are still possible. She even referred to the animal as a "well-known local."
"We don't want anybody to get hurt," Bryant said. "Nobody wants that. We don't want the bear to die either."
A supervising wildlife biologist with the Fish and Wildlife Department, Jason Holley, told the local news agency that there is no other option at this point with the bear.
"It is the point of no return for this bear, but the public needs to fix the things that brought us to this point, or it will continue," Holley said.
The wildlife agency has urged people to make sure their homes and rental properties are "bear-proof," meaning there is no easy access to garbage or any food.
As for the black bear, the decision to relocate the bear might end up killing it due to its inability to hunt, but advocates like Bryant are asking for it to be sent to a sanctuary out of state.
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