Florida wildlife authorities confirmed Friday that the grisly death of an elderly man in Collier County earlier this week was the first fatal Florida black bear attack in state history.
Investigators said the remains of 89-year-old Robert Markel were found about 100 yards from his home in rural Jerome. They found evidence that “a physical encounter” occurred between a bear and Markel; that the man’s dog was killed nearby and that the killer bear “entered” the victim's home.
“The exact sequence of events remains unclear,” said the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in a statement released late Friday afternoon. The FWC is in charge of the investigation.
FWC officials said they killed three black bears to help them identify the killer bear and identified one bear that “contained the partial remains of Markel.” The finding was based on necropsy results and DNA samples.
“DNA results received on Friday, May 9, positively identified that the 263-pound male’s DNA was present on Markel, inside his residence and on the dog’s body,” the FWC officials said.
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Markel and his dog were killed Monday morning and discovered in a rural area south of the Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area.
The FWC said they “lethally” removed three adult male bears, weighing 207, 263 and 434 pounds out of concerns for public safety, a decision the FWC said it did not make lightly.
"We want to thank the family for their cooperation as they navigate this challenging time, and our thoughts remain with them,” said FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto in a statement. “I am proud of our staff's professional response and support for the family as they faced an unfathomable event this week.”
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.
The FWC reported that it receives an average of 6,300 bear-related calls annually and has documented 42 prior incidents where wild black bears have made physical contact with people since the 1970s, when comprehensive records began being kept. Of those, only three resulted in serious injuries requiring medical attention.
