Fatal Bear Attack Recorded for First Time in Florida

AmmoLand ^ | May 9, 2025 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

An 89-year-old Florida grandfather appears to have been attacked and killed by a black bear during the early morning hours of May 5th, near Jerome, Florida.  Jerome is a rural area on the opposite side of the state from Miami, between the Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area and the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, part of the Everglades.

The relative of 89-year-old Robert Markel called 911 to report that a bear had killed Markel’s dog as the relative had watched, and that the elderly relative was missing. The call was made about 7 a.m. From fox4news.com:

“No, he’s gone completely. His whole camper was destroyed,” the 911 caller said. “He’s not in there. He’s 89-years-old…he can’t run. He literally can’t even walk without falling over,” he added.

The granddaughter told deputies on scene the last time she saw her grandfather was 7:30 p.m. Sunday. 

When deputies arrived, the report says the trailer was in disarray, the mattress was off the bed and items were scattered throughout the trailer.

One relative said (video) the dog was tied to a fence outside the camper when the bear attacked Markel and dragged him from the camper. It is not clear if the dog was tied up when it was killed by a bear hours later.

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TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: attack; banglist; bear; fl

[marktwain]

The area in question is surrounded by dense forest and nature preserves in the Everglades.

There were numerous bears in the area. It is not clear if the dog was still tied up when the bear killed it hours after killing the 89-year-old semi-invalided man.

[marktwain]

Woodline of forest near where attack took place.

[srmanuel]

Living here in Florida, I heard this earlier today, 3 Black Bears were killed near the area where the dog was killed and the old man went missing.

One of the 3 bears was found with human remains in his stomach.

The bear was male, removing the idea that the bear was a female protecting her cubs.

[marktwain]

The evidence showed the man was killed hours before the 7 a.m. call. Sunrise was still an hour away.

[Seruzawa]

Always keep spray and a 44 handy in bear country.

[NFHale]

Damned horror show…. That poor old man.

What a way for a life to end.

[Omnivore-Dan]

“a bear had killed Markel’s dog as the relative had watched”. Watching the bear kill the dog? How about doing something? I would not be in an area unarmed with bears, pythons, gators, and everything else that wants to eat me. I’d have a gun capable of taking out the worst. Apparently the bear got away, no telling if it was rabid or not. Rare for a bear to attack unless you get too close to its cubs or it’s starving or rabid. I would think there is plenty of food for a bear in the everglades.

[marktwain]

Spray is not so good inside a small, enclosed space.

https://www.ammoland.com/2024/10/russian-experience-with-bear-spray-and-polar-bear/

[Sacajaweau]

And they still won’t stop re-introducing wolves and bear and vultures...

[Telepathic Intruder]

The government puts higher priority on diversity in nature than it does human life.

[Omnivore-Dan]

Well the bear won’t be killing anyone else or any dog, so that is some good news. Pity the poor old man and his dog, a horrible way to go.

[Bulwyf]

Skip the spray. If you need it, you should already have your firearm out.

[marktwain]

Rare for a bear to attack unless you get too close to its cubs or it’s starving or rabid.

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Most black bear attacks are predatory attacks. This attack was clearly predatory. The bear dragged the man off into the woods and covered the body with dirt and leaves. This is common when bears want to cache large prey for later meals.

While attacks by female black bears with cubs happen, they are relatively rare. Most female black bears will abandon cubs instead of attacking. Rabid bears are a concern, of course.

As populations of black bears have increased nationwide, so have attacks by black bears. Grizzly bears are far more aggressive. Grizzly bears in the lower 48 states attack people about 200-300 times as often per bear compared to black bears. In the lower 48, there about about 200-300 times as many black bears as grizzly bears.

[Dr. Franklin]

And they still won’t stop re-introducing wolves and bear and vultures...

Anything at the top of the food chain that might attack humans must be culled, bears, wolves, sharks, etc. Vultures are scavengers. They just finish the scraps something else leaves. I don't worry about them much.

[srmanuel]

It is very unfortunate that a person lost their life, the guy had been living in the Everglades for years and it ultimately ended up being his demise.

On the flip side, with the python population in Florida being out of control and wreaking havoc on the native animal population, it’s good to see a lot of bears still running around in the Everglades.

One of the crazy ideas I heard recently to help control the python population was to release Honey Badgers into the wild, honey badgers are known to take out pythons, the downside is honey badgers are not native to Florida.

[saleman]

Kill a bear, go to jail.

Or at least Court and a huge fine.

Circumstances be damned

[Revel]

Too bad he wasn’t armed.

[Omnivore-Dan]

I’d go to jail.

[EnderWiggin1970]

Bear spray is much more effective as it is comparable to a flamethrower in its area of effect. The firearm won't be needed at that point.

I live in Wyoming and used to carry a sidearm hiking, but gave it up for bear spray. There's definitely a bias in many people's minds in favor of firearms, but for bear deterrence the spray is the better option. (It is also my preferred crowd control device, if I'm ever in a riot ;-)

[Bobbyvotes]

Old person in 80’s should be living only in a city or town, not in wilderness area.