Wildlife officials killed at least one bear suspected in the fatal mauling of an elderly man and his dog in southwest Florida.
On the morning of May 5, authorities found Robert Markel and his dog deceased from an apparent bear attack on Markel's property in Jerome, a small unincorporated community 30 miles east of Naples, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Later in the day, George Renaud, a spokesperson for the commission, said they were called to Markel's property after his daughter reported seeing a bear kill Markel's dog about 7 a.m. Markel and his dog were not killed at the same time, wildlife officials said.
Commission spokesperson Tyson Matthews described Markel as an "elderly male," but officials have not released his age.
If the ongoing investigation confirms the victim's cause of death was a bear mauling, it would be the first fatal bear attack in Florida, Matthews said.
The dead bear was hauled out of the woods the night of May 5 in Collier County, just south of Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area. Before officials exited the woods with the bear, a cluster of loud pops sounded, and then more pops, presumably gunfire, came 30 to 45 minutes later.
Earlier, they said they had put out bear traps as they continued to investigate the incident and had warned residents and visitors to stay vigilant.
Officials said the dead bear would be transported to Gainesville for testing, but did not confirm it was the bear involved in the deaths.
DNA from the scene has been sent to Gainesville.
According to data from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, if confirmed, the May 5 attack in Collier County would be the second bear mauling in Florida this year. While state data references black bear attacks, authorities have not confirmed the type of bear involved in the May 5 attack.
According to the data, since November 2020, there have been at least 15 bear attacks in Florida involving the presence of dogs. The last attack a dog was not present, according to the records, was in March 2020.
The last documented black bear attack in Collier County happened Jan. 9, 2018, when a black bear attacked a man in his North Naples yard.
The man was letting his dog outside when it growled and ran back inside. When the man stepped outside to see what scared the dog, one of three bears a few feet from his back door gashed his face with its massive paw. The wound left an eight-inch scar and other marks.
Contributing: Mark Bickel, Samantha Neely, Kim Luciani, Cheryl McCloud, Thomas Rodriguez, Stacey Henson