Authorities track bear which killed elderly man and his dog while asleep
One of three black bears killed by wildlife officers in southwest Florida has been officially connected to a fatal attack on a man and his dog, according to lab results released on Friday.
Necropsy results of the 263-pound male bear revealed that partial remains of 89-year-old Robert Markel were found inside the animal, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.
Testing showed that the same bear’s DNA was present on Markel’s body, inside his home and on the deceased dog’s body.
Wildlife officials have not explicitly said that the bear is the one that killed Markel, but a preliminary autopsy by the Collier County Medical Examiner found that Markel’s cause of death is consistent with a bear attack.
It was not clear whether Markel had already been dead when the bear found him.
Bears killed
Markel was attacked early on Monday morning near his home in a rural area east of Naples, just south of Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area.
Wildlife officers set several traps and cameras. They killed three black bears in the area and sent their remains to a Gainesville lab. None of the animals tested positive for rabies, officials said.
Wildlife officials are still investigating the events that led to the attack.
WBBH reported that Markel’s grandson made the heartbreaking 911 call after discovering the chaotic scene in his grandfather’s camper.
‘I’m putting my clothes on, getting my gun, and going to look for a bear,’ the grandson said.
‘The bear just got the dog, the dog’s dead. We went in to check on him in the camper, he’s gone, the camper’s torn all apart.’
Asleep during the attack
The dispatcher asked Markel’s grandson if the elderly man might have run from the bear.
Markel’s grandson replied, ‘He’s 89, he can’t run. He can’t even walk without falling over.’
His grandson told operators that the bear had entered his residence while he was sleeping.
Markel and his dog were found in separate locations, approximately 200 yards apart.
The FWC has captured and killed at least three bears that they believe have been involved in the attack.
Wildlife experts note that black bears – the only species found in Florida – typically avoid human contact.
The attack was particularly unusual and concerning.
Florida’s black bears, which were once threatened, have increasingly wandered into neighbourhoods and private property in recent years, especially in more rural areas of north and central Florida.
The state is home to approximately 4,050 black bears, according to the FWC.
