Latest news with #BigCypress
Bloomberg
5 days ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Trump Plans to Offload National Park Sites, But States Don't Want Them
Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve sprawls north from Everglades National Park over 729,000 acres of swamp, an ancient forest that protects the endangered Florida panther and the pristine waters of the Everglades — the source of drinking water for millions of south Floridians. About 2.2 million people visited last year, roughly three times the number at Everglades National Park, according to National Park Service data. The preserve and others like it are 'typically the places where the local people enjoy the most,' said Neal McAliley, an environmental lawyer at Carlton Fields in Miami and a former environmental litigator at the Justice Department.
Daily Mail
10-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Gruesome discovery in case of elderly man and his dog brutally killed in Florida bear attack
One of three black bears killed by wildlife officers in southwest Florida have been officially connected to a fatal attack on a man and his dog, according to lab results released on Friday. Necropsy results of the 263-pound male bear revealed that partial remains of 89-year-old Robert Markel were found inside the animal, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said. Testing showed that the same bear's DNA was present on Markel's body, inside his home and on the deceased dog's body. Wildlife officials have not explicitly said that the bear is the one that killed Markel, but a preliminary autopsy by the Collier County Medical Examiner found that Markel's cause of death is consistent with a bear attack. It was not clear whether Markel had already been dead when the bear found him. Markel was attacked early on Monday morning near his home in a rural area east of Naples, just south of Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area. Wildlife officers set several traps and cameras. They killed three black bears in the area and sent their remains to a Gainesville lab. None of the animals tested positive for rabies, officials said. Wildlife officials are still investigating the events that led to the attack. Markel's grandson made the heartbreaking 911 call after discovering the chaotic scene in his grandfather's camper, reported WBBH. Testing showed that same bear's DNA was present on Markel's body, inside his Jerome home and on the dog's body 'I'm putting my clothes on, getting my gun, and going to look for a bear,' the grandson said. 'The bear just got the dog, the dog's dead. We went in to check on him in the camper, he's gone, the camper's tore all apart.' The dispatcher asked Markel's grandson if it was possible that the elderly man ran from the bear. Markel's grandson replied, 'He's 89, he can't run. He can't even walk without falling over.' His grandson told operators that the bear had entered his residence while he was sleeping. Markel and his dog were found in separate locations, approximately 200 yards apart. The FWC has captured and killed at least three bears who they believe have been involved in the attack. Wildlife experts note that black bears - the only species found in Florida - typically avoid human contact. Authorities have killed three bears and sent them off for DNA testing to see if they were the attackers The attack was particularly unusual and concerning. Florida's black bears, which were once threatened, have increasingly wandered into neighborhoods and private property in recent years, especially in more rural areas of north and central Florida. The state is home to approximately 4,050 black bears, according to the FWC.
CBS News
09-05-2025
- CBS News
Lab tests connect black bear killed by Florida wildlife officers to fatal attack on man and his dog
Lab results have connected one of three black bears killed by wildlife officers in southwest Florida to a fatal attack on a man and his dog a day earlier, officials said Friday. Necropsy results revealed that a 263-pound (119-kilogram) male bear contained the partial remains of 89-year-old Robert Markel, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a statement. Testing showed that same bear's DNA was present on Markel's body, inside his home and on the dog's body. Wildlife officials have not explicitly said that bear is the one that killed Markel, but a preliminary autopsy by the Collier County Medical Examiner found that Markel's cause of death is consistent with a bear attack. Markel was attacked early Monday near his home in a rural area east of Naples, just south of Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area. Wildlife officers set several traps and cameras. They killed three black bears in the area and sent their remains to a Gainesville lab. None of the animals tested positive for rabies, officials said. Wildlife officials are still investigating the events that led to the attack. Florida's black bears, which were once threatened, have increasingly wandered into neighborhoods and private property in recent years, especially in more rural areas of north and central Florida.
Associated Press
09-05-2025
- Associated Press
Lab tests connect black bear killed by Florida wildlife officers to fatal attack on man and his dog
JEROME, Fla. (AP) — Lab results have connected one of three black bears killed by wildlife officers in southwest Florida to a fatal attack on a man and his dog a day earlier, officials said Friday. Necropsy results revealed that a 263-pound (119-kilogram) male bear contained the partial remains of 89-year-old Robert Markel, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a statement. Testing showed that same bear's DNA was present on Markel's body, inside his home and on the dog's body. Wildlife officials have not explicitly said that bear is the one that killed Markel, but a preliminary autopsy by the Collier County Medical Examiner found that Markel's cause of death is consistent with a bear attack. Markel was attacked early Monday near his home in a rural area east of Naples, just south of Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area. Wildlife officers set several traps and cameras. They killed three black bears in the area and sent their remains to a Gainesville lab. None of the animals tested positive for rabies, officials said. Wildlife officials are still investigating the events that led to the attack. Florida's black bears, which were once threatened, have increasingly wandered into neighborhoods and private property in recent years, especially in more rural areas of north and central Florida.
The Guardian
06-05-2025
- The Guardian
Officials say black bear likely killed man and his dog in Florida
Wildlife officials in Florida are investigating what is believed to be the first fatal mauling of a human by a bear in the state. The body of the black bear suspected in the death of 89-year-old Robert Markel was removed from woodland near the unincorporated community of Jerome, close to Florida's Big Cypress wildlife management area, on Monday night, according to the Naples Daily News. Rangers were called to the area shortly after 7:15am on Monday when Markel's daughter reported that she witnessed a bear killing his dog, said George Reynaud, spokesperson for the Florida fish and wildlife conservation commission (FWC), at a press conference on Monday. He said Markel's body was found '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. Reynaud said said that rangers had set traps in the woodland during the day Monday, and a search team of about 10 was searching the area on foot, as well as using drones. He warned the public to stay away from the area. 'Lethal force is a last resort but we are armed to address that,' another FWC spokesperson, Tyler Matthews, told the press conference. The commission has recorded 43 human-bear encounters in Florida dating back to 2006, excluding vehicle strikes, and almost all of them also involving a dog. Markel's death would be the first fatality in the state attributed to a bear mauling, if that was found to be his cause of death. Matthews told the Naples Daily News that the carcass of the bear in Monday's incident was being transported to Gainesville for a necropsy. The Guardian has contacted FWC for further comment. The only other recorded encounter in Florida this year between a bear and human was in Marion, in the state's north east region, in February, involving an adult female and her cub. Florida has more than 4,000 black bears, with a sizable population in south-west Florida, and in and around the Big Cypress natural area. Once a threatened species, with only 300-500 statewide in the 1970s because of habitat loss and unregulated hunting, black bear numbers have rebounded in recent years. Hunting was banned in 1994, but the Florida legislature authorized a limited hunt in 2015, and FWC has proposed issuing permits for the hunting of another 187 bears later this year. The move sparked a backlash from wildlife advocates and a petition with more than 31,000 signatures. In June of last year, Florida's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, signed a bill loosening protections for black bears. Legislators approved the measure after hearing a state congressman, Jason Shoaf, insist without evidence that black bears high on crack cocaine were breaking into people's homes and destroying property.
