Florida authorities announced the state’s first known deadly bear attack.
According to USA Today, one or more bears killed an 89-year-old man, Robert Markel, whose dog is in Collier County, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said. The attack was due to the FWC's view that the “highly regulated bear hunting” reactivated for the first time since 2015 in response to the growing bear population.
According to authorities, on Monday morning, May 5, Markle's daughter saw a bear attack and kill her father's dog, according to the authorities, USA Today reported. When officials arrived at the scene, they also found Markle's body. Both Markle and his dog died on Markle's property, but at different times.
“We are all affected when life is lost,” according to USA Today, committee spokesman Tyson Matthews said in a press conference. Within 24 hours after Markel's death, wildlife officers set up cameras and traps at the attack site, resulting in the killing of three black bears. The bears' remains are now undergoing DNA tests in Gainesville, Florida to confirm that any or all of the three animals are involved in the fatal attack, The New York Times reported.
“Out of a lot of caution, we urge residents and visitors to continue to be alert and avoid the area,” the FWC said in a statement cited by USA Today USA. “Don't approach or try to track wildlife. Law enforcement and FWC personnel are continuing to monitor bear activities and ensure public safety.” Monday's attack was the second beating attack in Florida this year, according to the Naples Daily News.
In the 1970s, there were only a few hundred black bears in Florida. Today, the FWC calls it one of Florida's most successful conservation efforts, with population rebounding to more than 4,000. Florida residents reported more frequent eyewitnesses were found in communities and private property due to the increase in population, according to the Associated Press.
The commission is now considering resuming regulated bear hunting after the FWC's Bear Management Program introduces the latest news on the implementation of Florida's 2019 Black Bear Management Program.
Under the plan, the goal of regulated bear hunting is to “balance species population with appropriate habitat and maintain healthy animals.” By controlling the number of bears in a certain area, bear hunting can also reduce problematic and/or dangerous encounters with humans.
As the New York Times reports, if you do have contact with the bear, “stand on your own ground.” “Make yourself look big. Talk to the bear in a calm way. Don't run. Don't play death.”
If physical contact occurs, “you need to fight back.”
