Black bears can be extremely difficult to track down after they’ve been shot, one hunter said, and a bill coming before the Wyoming Legislature would allow hunters to use leashed blood-tracking dogs to help find their kills.
It’s already legal in Wyoming to use tracking dogs to find the carcasses of big game animals, such as deer and elk.
And that used to be the case with black bears too, avid bear hunter Julie Mccallister of Rock River told Cowboy State Daily.
However, a technicality in the way animals are classified in Wyoming made it effectively illegal after a bear hunter was cited for using a tracking dog a few years ago, she said.
Black bears are classified as trophy game animals in Wyoming, a status they share with mountain lions, bison, bighorn sheep, mountain goats and moose.
Grizzly bears in the Lower 48 remain under federal endangered species protection. However, if they delisted and Wyoming opens a hunting season for them, they would also be classified as trophy game.
Senate File 27, set to go before the 2026 Legislature would clarify the matter of using tracking dogs, by adding three words, “or black bear” to the existing statute, Mccallister said.
That shouldn’t be confused with pursuing black bears with hounds, which is legal in some states, but would remain illegal in Wyoming even if SF27 passes, the bill’s primary sponsor, Rep. Bill Landen, R-Casper, told Cowboy State Daily.
It is also illegal to pursue big game animals and most trophy game animals with dogs in Wyoming.
The exception is mountain lions, which may be actively hunted with hounds.
A Snag In The Wording
Tracking missing game animals with dogs was first allowed through a bill passed in 2019 said Mccallister, who is a member of the Rocky Mountain Big Game Recovery tracking dog association.
That bill allows the use of “one (1) leashed blood‑trailing dog to track a wounded or killed big game animal within seventy‑two (72) hours of shooting the animal,” according to statute.
It was assumed at the time that included black bears as well, Mccallister said. And she used her German Shepherd, Eddie to do so for a couple of seasons.
However, there was an instance in which a Wyoming Game and Fish warden cited another bear hunter for using a tracking dog, because the wording in the statute includes only “big game,” animals. And a judge upheld the citation, she said.
After that, using tracking dogs on bears was considered illegal, and bear hunters quit doing it, Mccallister said.
The new bill would bring some clarity, adding “or black bear” after the wording “big game animal” to specify that black bears are included, even if other trophy game animals are not, Landen said.
He said Mccallister brought the matter up to him and Sen. Andrew Byron, R-Jackson.
Landen said it’s a simple clarification, but it can make a big difference in the ethical recovery of black bears from the field.
“It’s one of the ‘Ten Commandments’ of being a good sportsperson. You never leave an animal out in the field,” Landen said.
Mccallister said she’s optimistic about the SF 27’s chances of passing, and said she’s grateful for the efforts of Landen, Byron and other legislators backing the bill.
Black Bears Are Difficult To Track
Giving black bear hunters the option of bringing in a dog to search for bears they’ve shot would make a huge difference, Mccallister said.
Bears can be difficult to track because unlike other game, they tend to not leave blood trails, she said.
Bears have so much fat underneath their skin, a projectile (either bullet or hunting arrow broadhead) entering from one side will carry a gob of fat with it through the bear, “and the fat plugs the exit wound on the other side, so there’s no bleeding,” she said.
The best humane killing shot on a bear is through both lungs, she added.
Bears are exceptionally tough and go a long way, even when mortally wounded, Mccallister said.
She recalled during one hunting trip before the ban on tracking dogs, she brought in Eddie to help her find a bear that she could not.
“We went 320 yards, without finding one drop of blood,” she said.
However, when Eddie located the bear’s carcass by way of his keen nose, it was evident that Mccallister’s shot had been true.
“That bear was fatally shot; both lungs were blown through,” she said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
