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Cowboy State Daily is Wyoming’s largest newspaper with Wyoming’s most experienced journalists. 

<title>You Still Here? Sunday, November 20, 2022 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Sadly, chili fountains never caught on.

You Still Here? Sunday, November 20, 2022

Mac Watson

Daily Video News

It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Thursday, June 11th.  I’m Mac Watson

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Sgt. Zach Burns has been identified as the Carbon County deputy who took multiple bullets in a shootout with a suspect in Baggs on Monday. Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports that the sheriff says Burns is in critical condition but improving.

“We still don't know who the suspect is. He died in a shootout with officers. We still don't know how many officers were involved in that, and we don't know, obviously, his identity, whether he was a local guy or whether you know he worked somewhere else and lived in Baggs. When I was in Baggs on Monday and Tuesday, everybody I talked to, nobody seemed to know who he was, so a lot of them were speculating it's probably not someone who grew up here. Otherwise, we would know.”

According to the sheriff’s report, Burns was shot in the neck, arm, and hip. The report also says the suspect 

Seven of the 10 Republican candidates running to become Wyoming’s next U.S. House candidates courted a largely Christian audience with statements on their faith, and their different approaches to education, family rights, and abortion policy. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports the debate was vigorous, but polite.

“It's tough to stand out in a crowd that big. So you have Kevin Christensen talking about saying a prayer with his soldiers moments before invading Iraq. You have Jillian Balow talking about the sacrifices that she's so grateful for that women made so she could be an adoptive mom. You have Bo Biteman harkening to the founding fathers, reiterating the the role of the Congress from the Constitution, you have Chuck Gray talking about the media and insiders, and so there were some bolder overtures that the candidates undertook, possibly in their effort to distinguish themselves from this crowded field.”

The Wyoming Family Alliance is an advocacy group that strives to advance biblical, generally faith-based policy objectives. The group’s president posed a series of questions at a packed event Tuesday evening in The Metropolitan in downtown Cheyenne, to these seven GOP candidates.

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A Pinedale rancher told U.S. Senators on Wednesday that he and other Upper Basin farmers are tired of Wyoming giving up Colorado River water. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that rancher Mike Vickrey told the Senate committee that as he sees it, he and other Upper Basin farmers and ranchers have gone above and beyond to conserve water.

“That rancher said basically, in a nutshell, we're doing all we can to conserve water up here on the upper basin. There's only so much to go around. Maybe we need to rethink the allocations, because this all flows back - no pun intended - this all this all flows back to the Colorado River Compact, which was drawn up in 1922 and a lot of people have said there were a lot, there was a lot more water in the river, and a lot fewer people demanding it back in 1922 Maybe we need to change the way we do things.”

Gov. Gordon, along with Senators Barrasso and Lummis met Tuesday with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, as well as Utah Senators Mike Lee and John Curtis.

A 57-year-old woman who was arrested Tuesday and charged with first-degree murder in the death of a newborn boy in early 1988 repeatedly claimed the baby wasn’t hers. Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports that investigators say DNA testing shows it’s 1.97 million times more likely Eva Martinez is the baby’s mother than anyone else.

“The sheriff's office sent the case and sent DNA samples. and what that lab was able to do was narrow this baby's DNA down to two potential relatives, not direct relatives, but one who could be a grandfather-type. They tracked back to finding the actual biological father of this baby. Apparently he was living with this woman at that time, back in Cheyenne, almost 40 years ago, telling them, okay, this is who I was with, and they were able to get a DNA sample from her tested, and it came up that it's the probability that she's the mother is extremely high.” 

Cheyenne resident Eva Martinez was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of first-degree murder in the death of who has become known over the past 38 years as “Baby John Doe,” whose body was gruesomely discovered on Feb. 28, 1988, near a culvert off a county road, according to court documents. She faces a first degree murder charge.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"},{"type":"italic"}],"text":"–"}]

I’ll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.

Cowboy State Daily News continues now….

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A rural neighborhood north of Cheyenne told Black Hills Energy it doesn't want a planned natural gas power plant during "a very contentious” local-only meeting this week. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that one resident says “The only reason you’d do that is to put a data center there.”

“It's a 935 acre parcel, and so you're going to put power generation on that. What kind of noise is that going to make? How is that going to look? You know, it's a pretty scenic area. It's a historic ranching community, pretty residential. It's like I'm told that the roads out there, like a two-lane dirt road, and so you know people are worried about traffic, they're worried about noise, they're worried about quality of life, how that's going to affect their property values, and kind of all the things you would expect.”

The project will trigger a multi-year Wyoming Industrial Siting Division review process, even as Black Hills Energy pursues a multibillion-dollar merger with Northwestern Energy. 

U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis says she still backs renaming U.S. Highway 287 as I-47 — aka “The Trump Interstate.”  Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that’s despite the fact that the main sponsor said it may not be a priority after he lost a primary race. 

“The four lane interstate that John Cornyn, a Republican of Texas, proposed to zip through the state of Wyoming, is now in limbo after Cornyn lost his primary election to Attorney General Ken Paxton. Senator Cynthia Lummis is a co-sponsor of the bill. On Wednesday afternoon, she told reporters that she still supports the bill. Right now, it is in limbo. She declined to comment further on what will happen.”

The I-47 Future Interstate Act proposed designating the roughly 1,800-mile U.S. 287 corridor from the Gulf Coast of Texas to Montana as a future interstate route. The route runs through Wyoming communities including Laramie, Rawlins, Jeffrey City, Lander, Dubois and Moran before continuing north into Montana.

The state found widespread failures with Sweetwater County School District 1’s special ed program, giving the district a year to correct them. Cowboy State Daily’s Kate Meadows reports that one former school board member says, “This wasn't a failure by just one person. This is a systemic failure.”

“The report came out this week, and it shows the school district to be in violation of providing special education services through properly credentialed professionals. It also shows that the school district failed to deliver services in accordance with students’ IEPs, or individualized education programs, and it also shows that parents were not given meaningful opportunities to participate in their students' individual education processes. Former board member Cole Ceppi said that they had seen some of these same problems with their own child in the district when he was a member and their child was in the special department, so he said to realize this is a more systemic problem makes me incredibly disappointed.”

The WDE conducted a five-day special monitoring review in February after receiving complaints and reports of possible noncompliance from parents, current and former staff members, and media accounts. 

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More than 69 miles of the Beartooth Highway are still closed because of a late spring snowstorm in southern Montana. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that officials are warning motorists not to use “map apps” as people have become stranded like a German couple who got lost in Wyoming. 

“The Bear Tooth Highway closed at 7:45am Wednesday morning, and it was closed all day due to snow. There is more snow incoming. There's a winter weather advisory for southern Montana, including the Montana portion of the Beartooth Highway until Thursday morning, and Cowboy and Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day said it's entirely possible that the Beartooth Highway and several roads in Yellowstone could close again this weekend, because we've got another cold weather system moving in that'll bring more rain and snow that could easily freeze in the ice on the roads overnight.”

The Beartooth Highway sits at the northern edge of the Yellowstone Plateau, a massive landform that covers northwest Wyoming and southern Montana. A rugged area that is its own environment. Drivers ascend from 5,200 feet to 10,947 feet in just 12 miles.

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And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on 

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 channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app.  Thanks for watching - I’m Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

News image 6 11 26

<title>Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Thursday, June 11, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Thursday's headlines include:
* Deputy In Critical Condition
* Woman Arrested In 38-Year Cold Case
* Pinedale Rancher Tired Of Giving Up Water

Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Thursday, June 11, 2026

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's Feature Reporter, Andrew Rossi.

Andrew Rossi

Outdoors

The Beartooth Highway was closed at 7:45 a.m. Wednesday because of snow and extreme conditions at the highest points of the 10,947-foot-high All-American Road.

As of Friday afternoon, the entire 68.29-mile expanse still wasn’t fully open with no estimated time of reopening. That’s because it was still snowing across northwest Wyoming and southern Montana, with no signs of stopping.

The Montana Department of Transportation (MDOT) posted pictures of deep snowdrifts covering the two-lane mountain pass and several inches of fresh snow across the landscape. The agency told tourists traveling between Wyoming and Montana to take the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway to reach Red Lodge, Montana, and beyond.

[{"type":"text","text":"And, above all else, MDOT posted, “Please do not use map apps.”"}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Not That Late"}]

Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day hadn’t seen any snow totals reported from the Beartooth Highway. Based on pictures and reports out of Yellowstone National Park, he had a reasonable guess of how much snow had fallen at nearly 11,000 feet.

“It's probably in the neighborhood of 3 to 5 inches of snow, with a lot of wind and cold slicking things up,” he said. “There should be a fair amount of wind up there, and it’s chilly enough to make things icy.”

Meanwhile, a Winter Weather Advisory was issued for southern Montana, including the Beartooth Highway, until 9 a.m. Thursday. Additional snowfall of up to 2 inches was anticipated, along with wind gusts as high as 55 mph.

Tourists might be baffled to hit a snow-caused road closure in mid-June, but that’s the reality on the Beartooth Highway. It doesn’t happen frequently, but it does often enough, and sometimes even later in the summer.

“It snows every month of the year up there,” Day said. “I can remember some Fourth of July where they've had snow-related issues on the Beartooth Highway.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Its Own Climate"}]

Day believes people underestimate the elevation changes they experience when exploring northwest Wyoming. Drivers ascend from 5,200 feet to 10,947 feet in just 12 miles.

The Beartooth Highway sits at the northern edge of the Yellowstone Plateau, a massive landform that covers northwest Wyoming and southern Montana. An area that vast, high, and rugged is its own environment

“If you’re entering from the east, you go from the steppe desert of the Bighorn Basin to the cool, lush forests of Yellowstone, to a high-elevation mountain terrain very quickly,” Day said. “That terrain lifts the atmosphere and makes its own weather.”

It’s not uncommon for people to be driving through triple-digit temperatures in Cody, Greybull, and Lovell only to find snow flurries at the highest point of the Beartooth Highway later that day.

[{"type":"text","text":"The Beartooth Highway wasn’t the only road closed by snow."}]

Yellowstone’s Dunraven Pass and Craig Pass, a section of the Grand Loop Road between the West Thumb Geyser Basin and Old Faithful, were closed to all travel on Tuesday night due to winter weather. Both corridors were reopened by 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Then, Craig Pass was closed again at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday due to “adverse road and weather conditions.”  The entire park was covered with snow by Wednesday afternoon.

The National Weather Service (NWS) was anticipating snow showers all day Wednesday on the Beartooth Pass, with wind gusts as high as 28 mph. Daytime highs were in the 30s.

While astonishing to many, especially tourists, Day wasn’t surprised to see snow closing the Beartooth Highway. He was reminded how inhospitable the mountains can be, regardless of the season.

“I got a note from a guy who remembers treating people for frostbite in Rocky Mountain National Park in June 1976,” he said. “We tend to get these June patterns, and there’s another one coming.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Anticipated Closure?"}]

Plowing the Beartooth Highway is handled jointly by MDOT and the National Park Service. Both agencies had plows ready to clear the highway, but it’s still a day-long effort to get the road safe for vehicles, including massive RVs and tour buses.

The road-closing snow on Wednesday was caused by 

 that moved into Wyoming earlier this week. If that was enough to close the high-elevation highway, Day suspects we aren’t out of the woods yet.

“There’s another one of these coming in over the weekend,” he said. “As we reach Sunday night and go into Monday, they very well might get snowed on again. “

The NWS anticipates a mix of rain and snow showers on the Beartooth Highway starting Saturday and continuing through Sunday. Overnight temperatures could get as low as 28 degrees above 9,000 feet, which is enough to turn rain into snow and ice.

Day isn’t making any promises or predications, but he shared a word of caution. Anyone planning a trek over the Beartooths this weekend might want to reconsider or be prepared to stop, slide, and possibly get stuck.

“That part of Wyoming and Montana is going to be susceptible to cold fronts for another week or so,” he said. “It's going to be really chilly and wet in Yellowstone this weekend, and there’s going to be more weather next week.”

That’s the nature of the beast on the Beartooth Highway, Yellowstone, and northwest Wyoming. When it comes to snow, you’re never really out of the woods, even in summer.

[{"type":"text","text":"Tourists and residents need to dress and drive accordingly. "}]

Beartooth snow 6 10 26

<title>Beartooth Highway Still Closed Because Of Snow: 'Do Not Use Map Apps' | Cowboy State Daily</title>

More than 69 miles of the Beartooth Highway are still closed because of a late spring snowstorm in southern Montana. Road officials warned motorists not to use “map apps” as people have become stranded like a German couple who got lost in Wyoming. 

Beartooth Highway Still Closed Because Of Snow: 'Do Not Use Map Apps'

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Government & Politics

Education

A state investigation into Sweetwater County School District No. 1's special education program found it out of compliance in four of five major areas reviewed.

The probe uncovered problems that ranged from staffing shortages and unlicensed personnel to failures in implementing student education plans and involving parents in key decisions.

"This wasn't a failure by just one person. This is a systemic failure," said former Sweetwater County School District No. 1 board member Cole Seppie.

A 29-page report released this week by the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) found the district violated requirements to:

• Provide special education and related services through properly credentialed professionals.

• Deliver services in accordance with students' Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).

• Educate students in the least restrictive environment possible alongside their nondisabled peers.

• Give parents meaningful opportunities to participate in the IEP process.

The district was found compliant only in the area of student confidentiality.

Cowboy State Daily reached out to district Superintendent Dr. Joseph Libby and school board Chairman Cole Wright for comment. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Wright said in a text message that Libby is on vacation."}]

"Consequently, I can tell you that we have received the WDE report," Wright said. 

He added that the district is reviewing the findings and recommendations and will consider options upon Libby's return.

[{"type":"text","text":"What Was Found"}]

Investigators examined records, visited schools, interviewed staff and met with community members.

[{"type":"text","text":"Investigation Revealed Deep Concerns"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The review focused on five areas:"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"• Employment and supervision of qualified special education staff."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"• Delivery of services outlined in student IEPs."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"• Compliance with least restrictive environment requirements."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"• Meaningful parental participation."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"• Protection of confidential student information."}]

Investigators reviewed records from students across all grade levels, schools and disability categories.

Of 145 records selected, 19 could not be accessed through the district's online IEP system, reducing the sample size to 126.

WDE staff visited 15 schools and interviewed 47 employees, including Special Education Director Kayci Arnoldi.

The report describes a culture of mistrust between staff and district administration.

"Staff are terrified of backlash or forced transfers if they speak in opposition of an administrative decision," the report states.

[{"type":"text","text":"Community listening sessions also revealed widespread concerns. "}]

Of at least 45 community members who participated, 18 raised issues related to staffing, qualifications, turnover, reliance on substitute teachers and insufficient training. 

Another 17 concerns centered on IEP compliance and what the report described as administrative overreach in special education decisions.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Staffing Shortages And Unlicensed Personnel"}]

As of June 8, the district's website listed 27 open special education teaching and provider positions.

“I’m completely appalled at how many openings we’ve had,” said Rachel Seppie, Cole Seppie’s wife.

During the monitoring review, investigators reported that Arnoldi was unable to identify how many special education vacancies existed at any given time.

"The director considered adequate staffing to be the responsibility of the Human Resources Department rather than special education leadership," the report states.

“When you have the special education director calling for HR, that poses questions, when you don’t know how many positions are open in your staff,” said Kari Cochran, a parent in the district.

The WDE also found what it described as a districtwide practice of allowing unlicensed personnel to provide special education services without adequate supervision.

Investigators identified 30 unlicensed teachers or providers working in special education roles. 

More than one-quarter of the student files reviewed showed services being delivered by individuals who lacked the credentials required to provide specialized instruction or related services.

As of the report date, 18 long-term substitute teachers remained in positions serving students with disabilities.

According to the report, many teachers told investigators that long-term substitutes and educators working under exception authorizations were planning lessons, delivering instruction, assigning grades and monitoring student progress without appropriate supervision.

"In many IEPs, the unlicensed teacher or provider reported progress towards IEP goals," the report states.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Students Not Receiving Required Services"}]

The report found that 60% of reviewed student records showed services were not being delivered in accordance with students' IEPs.

Investigators learned that the amount of special education time students received was often determined by class schedules rather than the service levels specified in their individualized plans.

In some cases, that practice limited students' opportunities to learn alongside nondisabled peers.

The WDE cited staffing shortages, insufficient understanding of federal special education requirements and a lack of oversight as contributing factors.

The district was also found to be out of compliance with the federal requirement that students with disabilities be educated alongside nondisabled students whenever appropriate.

According to the report, those findings point to a misunderstanding of least restrictive environment requirements and a lack of district oversight.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Parents Left Out Of The Process"}]

Nearly half — 47% — of the student records reviewed contained evidence that parents were denied meaningful participation in the IEP process.

The report found little evidence that meetings were scheduled at mutually agreed-upon times. In many cases, records showed no documented contact with parents before meeting notices were sent.

Investigators also found that students were receiving services from unlicensed personnel without the credentials or supervision required under federal law, an issue that appeared in roughly 54% of the noncompliant records examined in this category.

As a result, the WDE concluded the district violated requirements guaranteeing parents meaningful opportunities to participate in decisions about their children's education.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"One Year To Correct Problems"}]

The district has 30 days from the report date to challenge any findings by submitting additional evidence.

Once the report becomes final, the district will have one year to correct all identified areas of noncompliance. A corrective action plan is expected to be finalized within 30 days after the report is finalized.

For Cochran, the report confirms concerns that many families have raised for years.

"We do have issues, but our leadership refuses to acknowledge them," Cochran said, describing what she sees as one of the district's biggest challenges.

[{"type":"text","text":"Rachel Seppie agreed."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Seeing it in writing affirms that there are facts,\" she said."}]

For the Seppies, whose son receives special education services, the findings were disappointing but not entirely unexpected.

"We had seen some of these problems with our child when I was a board member," Cole Seppie said. "To realize this is a more systemic problem makes me incredibly disappointed."

He said he believes most teachers and service providers are working hard under difficult circumstances.

"A vast majority of the teachers and providers are generally trying to do a good job," he said. "But when the administration and supervisors are not living up to the standards that they should, you're stuck in a bad system."

Rachel Seppie said the report validates concerns parents have repeatedly raised with district leaders.

"All these things have been identified multiple times," she said. "No one's been listening to the parents."

Seeing the state's findings laid out in writing was both frustrating and affirming, she added.

Sweetwater County School District 1 2

<title>State Finds Major Special Ed Failures In Sweetwater County School District 1 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A state investigation found widespread failures with Sweetwater County School District 1’s special ed program and gave it a year to correct them. "This wasn't a failure by just one person. This is a systemic failure," said a former school board member.

State Finds Major Special Ed Failures In Sweetwater County School District 1

Wildlife

Anyone enjoying an adventure in Yellowstone National Park might notice a bull bison lying in a lush meadow near Canyon Junction. If they see him stand up, they'll notice that he doesn't walk, but hops on three legs while keeping the fourth tucked up close to his body. 

That’s Tiny Tim, a well-known and easily identifiable bison that has been a cause of concern for many, but people who've followed his story of survival for the past two winters believe this bum-leg bison has been doing just fine for himself.

Instead of walking, Tiny Tim literally hops through his meadow to find food and shelter. He's a little skinny, but seems to be healthy, and the majority opinion is that he should be allowed to live on his own terms. 

“You can tell right before he's getting ready to hop, because he's having to really shift everything to get that hop done,” wildlife photographer April Holm told Cowboy State Daily. “It takes him a while to get anywhere, but he always gets there.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Poor Wretch"}]

Holm and her family were on one of their weekly trips to Yellowstone last month when they had their first encounter with Tiny Tim. He was lying down in his field near Canyon Junction, close enough for a great photograph.

“We just thought it was really cool that he was lying there,” Holm said. “It looked like he was just tired and resting. Then my daughter said, ‘Mommy, it looks like he’s dying. Look at his breathing.’”

Holm looked more closely. The bison’s breathing seemed labored, and his eyes looked like they were “rolled back into his head.”

When the bull bison finally stood up, Holm noticed his left front leg was “just hanging there.” 

He was clearly keeping it off the ground as he hopped around the field looking for fresh grass to graze on.

“He hopped around on three legs, and then he lay back down,” she said. “His leg doesn’t have any cuts or anything that we can see, but he was shifting all his weight and licking that front hoof.”

Sharing some sympathy for the bison’s predicament, the Holms got their photos and moved on.

Two weeks later, they were passing by the same spot and decided to see if the bull bison was still there.

[{"type":"text","text":"Remarkably, he was."}]

“He was lying there in the field again, not getting up and flopping his head up and down,” Holm said. “Then, we saw him get up and start eating.”

Three weeks after their first encounter with the bull, he’s in the same field.

“He hasn't moved more than 30 or 40 feet total that we've seen, or anybody else that we've talked to has seen,” Holm said.

Holm was concerned about Tiny Tim thinking he was living on borrowed time. While that may be true, Tiny Tim has borrowed a lot of time and doesn’t seem to be facing an imminent demise.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Village Grump"}]

After Holm posted several videos of Tiny Tim hobbling in his field, expressing concern about his condition and well-being, dozens of people have reached out with their own concerns for the bison.

One of those people was a year-round Yellowstone employee at Canyon Village who wanted to set the record straight.

“She said she was very familiar with the animal,” Holm said. “He first showed up sometime during the summer before last, so he has survived one full summer and two winters, at least.”

Many Canyon Village residents keep tabs on Tiny Tim. Everyone calls him Tiny Tim because he hobbles around, even though he's a fully-grown adult with a bad temperament. 

“Apparently, he gets quite defensive and grumpy if you get too close,” Holm said. 

During the winter, Tiny Tim left his field and moved into the employee housing area at Canyon. He was a stubborn, surviving roadblock for the entire season. 

"He’s blocked the road for days at a time, and that’s caused some trouble," Holm said. "You can’t just go around him in the winter.”

As for his condition, there’s something clearly wrong with Tiny Tim’s left front leg, but nobody can determine exactly what that is.

“His leg doesn’t have any cuts or anything that we can see,” Holm said. “Nobody has seen anything wrong with it, other than it looks swollen.”

Tiny Tim avoids putting any weight on that leg, but that hasn’t stopped him from finding enough to eat. Holm said he looks a little skinny, but seems “otherwise healthy.”

Furthermore, Tiny Tim seems to know he’s safe where he is. He’s not very mobile, but doesn’t seem eager to move out of the Canyon Village area.

“People who’ve watched him for a while say he never goes far,” Holm said. “He’s just that resilient.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Natural Environment"}]

Amidst the massive parking lots, snack-stocked general stores, and throngs of thousands, people can forget that Yellowstone is a natural ecosystem that’s mostly allowed to exist without interference.

Yellowstone’s bison aren’t commercial cattle or zoo attractions. They naturally move through the park and live as they have in the wild for millennia, which means enduring or succumbing to any injury and malady that afflicts them.

Regular Yellowstone visitors, like the Holms, are used to seeing the spectacular sagas of nature play out in the park. That’s why Tiny Tim’s survival is so surprising.

Tiny Tim is a full-grown bull bison who has survived two winters in Yellowstone despite having one unusable leg. “It takes him a while to get anywhere, but he always gets there,” said one wildlife photographer who’s following Tiny Tim.

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