Florida wildlife officials kill 3 bears that may have fatally attacked man, dog near Naples

Three bears killed by Florida Fish and Wildlife officers Monday night may have been responsible for an attack that killed a man and his dog earlier in the day near Naples, in Southwest Florida.

The man who died has been identified as 89-year-old Robert Markel, a long-time resident of a small community in Collier County. The FWC said Markel and his dog were not killed at the same time and more than one bear may have been involved.

The FWC said after the attack, which happened just south of Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area along State Road 29, they secured the perimeter and set up cameras and traps.

Overnight, the FWC said officers killed three bears in the area. DNA samples from the scene and the three bears have been sent to Gainesville for testing, and the wildlife agency is awaiting those results to see if they were involved in the deadly attack. 

The FWC said until they can determine which bears were definitively involved in the attack their investigation is ongoing. 

Officials were urging local residents in Collier County and visitors to remain on alert. 

“Our agency takes this very seriously. Public safety is paramount and our priority. We have to take public safety into account. But also, you know not only was a victim killed, a dog was killed in presence of people, and there was tracks and everything else. So we take all of that into consideration as we’re moving forward with the bear management part of things,” Mike Orlando, the FWC’s bear management program coordinator, said. 

Orlando said in addition to finding the bears, they will try to determine what led to the attacks.

“To start with, dogs and bears really just don’t get along. We see that throughout the state, they really don’t like each other. So we do have conflicts with dogs quite frequently. The issue with a person being not only injured but killed by a bear is extraordinarily rare,” Orlando said.

“It’s rare just throughout the country. It’s a tragic event and I don’t really know how to answer the question on why this bear did what it did, but we’re in the process of trying to figure all that out,” he added.

This marks the first ever deadly bear attack on a human in the state, according to state authorities. 

Florida’s black bear population on the rise

Florida’s black bear population, once classified as threatened, has rebounded in recent decades. The state has more than 4,000 black bears, according to the FWC.

Bear sightings and interactions with people have become more common, particularly in rural areas of north and central Florida.

The FWC has an interactive bear map to show bear related calls.