Officials: Elderly Man and His Dog Killed in Florida’s First Deadly Black Bear Attack

In Jerome, Florida, authorities confirmed a fatal incident involving a black bear after an elderly man went missing from his home. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) reported that this was the first lethal black bear attack in the state, as per a report by Fox News. The Collier County Sheriff’s Office notified the FWC about the situation when the man’s family reported his disappearance, mentioning signs of recent disturbances on the property possibly caused by a bear or bears. Subsequently, officials discovered the remains of 89-year-old Robert Markel about 100 yards from his residence.

Investigations indicated various significant findings, including evidence of a physical encounter between a bear and a person near the home, a dog killed by a bear, and signs of a bear entering the residence. The exact sequence of events remains unclear. The FWC’s policies on Human-Bear Conflict Response guide their actions in situations necessitating bear removal for public safety. In this instance, the circumstances documented required the lethal removal of three adult male bears, one weighing as much as 434 pounds. Efforts to trap a fourth bear failed, resulting in the collection of DNA evidence only. The FWC sent the bear carcasses to laboratories for examination.

Necropsy results revealed that the DNA of a 263-pound male bear contained partial remains of Markel, with further DNA evidence linking this bear to the victim, the residence, and the deceased dog. The DNA found at the scene matched the three bears that were lethally removed. These bears were tested negative for rabies. It was reported that Florida is home to around 4,000 black bears. The incident in Jerome adds to another recent bear attack in the state, where a woman in Sanford was attacked while walking her dog outside her home, using a bag of cookies to distract the bear and escape.