Florida man, 89, and his dog mauled to death by black bear in state's first fatal attack

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission FWC on Friday ratified a man and his dog were mauled to death by a black bear in Jerome marking the first fatal black bear attack in state history Family members released -year-old Robert Markel missing from his home and signs of latest disturbances that could have been caused by a bear or bears around the property The Collier County Sheriff s Office CCSO notified FWC staff on Monday of a viable fatal wildlife encounter and FWC law enforcement and bear management staff right now responded to secure the area YOUNG KANGAROO HOPS AROUND FLORIDA TOWN AFTER BRAZEN ESCAPE OWNER CHARGEDMarkel's remains were exposed about yards from his home along with evidence of a physical encounter between a bear and a person near the house according to a news release from the FWC Leaders also noted a dog was in the last few days killed by a bear near a person and there were signs that a bear had entered the home itself NIH CLOSES EXPERIMENTATION LABS ACCUSED OF BRUTALLY KILLING THOUSANDS OF BEAGLES FOR YEARSWhile the exact sequence of events remains unclear the FWC s Human-Bear Conflict Response Policies and Guidelines outline how the agency should respond when faced with situations that require the removal of a bear for general safety From Monday night into early Tuesday morning FWC personnel killed three adult male bears weighing and pounds according to the release There was an unsuccessful attempt to trap a fourth bear but DNA evidence was collected leaders revealed The three carcasses were without delay taken to laboratories in Gainesville for necropsy and testing along with DNA samples collected from physical evidence at the scene FWC representatives declared the Collier County Biological Examiner is still in the process of completing their analysis but indicated Markel's preliminary cause of death was consistent with injuries caused by a black bear WORLD'S TALLEST SHORTEST DOGS MEET FOR PRECIOUS PLAYDATE CAUGHT ON CAMERANecropsy results revealed that one bear the -pound male contained partial remains of Markel DNA results received on Friday positively identified that the -pound male s DNA was present on Markel inside his home and on the dog s body The only bear DNA ascertained at the scene matched the three bears that were killed by agents All three bears were tested for rabies and all results were negative according to authorities FWC law enforcement and bear management staff stayed in contact with the family and maintained a presence near the property until Friday spotting only one additional bear in the area Law enforcement and bear management staff will remain throughout the weekend PITTSBURGH FUNERAL DIRECTOR CHARGED WITH SWINDLING PET OWNERS DUMPING PETS' REMAINS IN LANDFILL We want to thank the family for their cooperation as they deal with this challenging time and our thoughts remain with them explained FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto I am proud of our staff's professional response and promotion for the family as they faced an unfathomable event this week Jerome is in the South Bear Management Unit which has the third-largest population of bears in the state estimated at in The FWC received bear-related calls within a -mile radius of nearby Copeland between May and May resulting in five site visits five capture efforts three bears that were relocated and hazed and one bear that was humanely killed according to the FWC While it is rare for wild black bears to injure people in Florida people have been bitten and scratched by bears the majority often when there are cubs food sources or dogs present CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPThe FWC receives an average of bear-related calls annually and has documented prior incidents where wild black bears have made physical contact with people since the s when comprehensive records began being kept Of those three resulted in serious injuries requiring medicinal attention prior to the the majority contemporary occurrence