Black bear kills Florida man, dog in state’s second attack of 2025
Written by Black Hot Fire Network on May 10, 2025
A massive black bear, weighing close to 300 pounds, mauled to death an 89-year-old Florida man and his faithful dog — the first deadly attack in Sunshine State history.
Robert Markel’s granddaughter called 911 on the morning of May 5, after seeing a male bear killing her dad’s dog right outside his camper, situated on her property in Jerome — about 70 miles south of Fort Myers.
The dog was dead by the time Collier County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene, 
