On May 5, a bear apparently mauled a Collier County man and his dog to death. Has this happened before? How can you protect yourself?

Tyson Matthews, public information officer for the FWC, said that if the ongoing investigation confirms that the victim’s cause of death was mauling by the suspected bear, it will be the first ever death by bear attack in Florida.

The attack occurred in a rural area east of Naples, just south of Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area, authorities said.