JEROME, Fla. – An 89-year-old man and his dog were killed in what officials are calling Florida’s first deadly bear attack on record, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
Robert Markel was outside with his dog near the Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area in Collier County early Monday when the attack occurred. Markel’s daughter reported to investigators that she witnessed a bear attack her father’s dog and then realized her father was missing. She subsequently discovered his body just hundreds of yards away.
“We do know it was a bear attack. We don’t know if it was the same bear or multiple bears,” said FWC spokesperson George Reynaud.
Wildlife authorities responded by deploying four live bear traps in the area. According to recent reports, two bears were removed from the area Monday night, and FWC officials are now working to determine whether one of these bears was responsible for Monday’s fatal attack through DNA testing.
The incident marks a grim milestone as the first deadly bear attack in Florida since the FWC began keeping records of bear encounters. According to wildlife officials, approximately 4,000 black bears live throughout Florida, part of the estimated 750,000 black bears in North America. Despite their numbers, attacks on humans remain exceptionally rare, with black bears killing less than one person per year on average across the continent.
This attack follows another recent bear incident in Florida. Last week, a woman in Sanford was attacked outside her home while walking her dog. She reportedly used a bag of cookies as a distraction to escape to safety.
The fatal attack comes at a time when Florida wildlife officials are already considering a controlled bear hunt. Earlier this year, the FWC solicited public input on a potential black bear hunt, holding a series of public meetings in early April. Current plans propose a hunt in December 2025 that would target 187 of Florida’s 4,000 black bears.
If approved, this would be Florida’s first bear hunt since 2015, when officials were forced to close the hunting season after just 48 hours. During that hunt, hunters quickly exceeded the predetermined limit of bears permitted to be killed, prompting the early closure.
For more information on bear encounters in Florida, you can view the FWC Interactive Public Bear Map.