COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. — Drivers killed several Florida panthers over the past week, according to the Florida Wildlife Commission.

After what sounded like gunfire, FWC officials emerged from the woods with a dead bear, possibly connected to the May 5 mauling of a Collier man.

Evidence and DNA collected from a black bear killed this week has confirmed it was the animal that killed a Collier County man and his dog, state wildlife officials said. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission finished its initial investigation into the first fatal Florida black bear attack in state history this week in Jerome,