Wildlife officers in southwest Florida have killed three black bears after a violent mauling that led to the death of a man and a dog, the first fatal attack of its kind in the state.
Authorities suspect that 89-year-old Robert Markel died as a result of a bear attack near his home early on Monday.
According to The Associated Press, 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 killed Markel.
The attack occurred in a rural area east of Naples, just south of Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area.
The body of the bear believed to have killed the man was removed from a wooded area close to the attack site on Monday night, according to the Naples Daily News.
Rangers were called to the scene at about 7:15 a.m. on Monday after Markel’s daughter reported seeing a bear attacking her father’s dog, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) spokesperson George Reynaud said at a press conference on Monday.
Woman walking dog attacked by black bear in Whistler neighbourhood
Reynaud said Markel’s body was discovered “a couple of hundred yards away” from the dog.
“We do know it was a bear attack. We don’t know if it was the same bear or multiple bears,” he said.
Wildlife officers secured the area and set numerous traps and cameras on Monday night, officials said, adding that authorities had advised members of the public to avoid the area. A search team of about 10 officers was also scaling the area on foot.
“Lethal force is a last resort, but we are armed to address that,” a second spokesperson, Tyler Matthews, said during the press conference.
The wildlife commission has recorded 43 bear encounters in Florida since 2006, including Monday’s, with two previous attacks in Naples, one of which involved a dog.
Markel’s death would be the first in the state to be caused by a bear attack, if confirmed.
The only other bear encounter recorded in Florida in 2025 was in Silver Springs in February and involved an adult female with her young cub.
According to the FWC, it is rare for bears to injure people in Florida, though there have been incidents of residents being bitten and scratched by bears defending themselves, their cubs or food sources.
If a person is attacked by a black bear, the FWC encourages fighting back.
“Fight back aggressively,” the website says. “People have successfully fended off black bear attacks using rocks, sticks, or even their bare hands!”
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.
— With files from The Associated Press