Florida wildlife officers said the death of an elderly man in Collier County on Monday may be the first victim of a bear attack in the history of Florida.
They also said they have killed three black bears in hopes of identifying the killer bear or bears that killed 89-year-old Robert Markel and his dog near his home on Monday morning. The man and dog were found dead in a rural area south of the Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area.
DNA samples from the bears and the attack scene have been sent to a Gainesville lab for testing to determine if any of the animals were linked to Markel.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials, who are in charge of the investigation, said the bear or bears involved in the death may still be in the area.
“We do know it was a bear attack,” George Reynaud, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, told reporters at a news conference. “We don't know if it was the same bear or multiple bears.”
"Out of an abundance of caution, we urge residents and visitors to remain vigilant and avoid the area," he said.
It is rare for bears to injure people in Florida, but people have been bitten and scratched by bears defending themselves, cubs, or food sources, the FWC said. The bear population statewide tops 4,000.
FWC officials said they had deployed four live bear traps in and around the vicinity where the incident occurred in an attempt to capture the bear or bears.
“If all the indicators show that this did occur as a black bear incident, it will be the first in the state as a fatality,” said an FWC spokesman.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
