Two bull elk carcasses have been discovered within 200 yards of each other about three-fourths of a mile south of the Medicine Lodge Archaeological Site near Hyattville, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
A third carcass was discovered nearby the next day. It’s thought the bulls were shot sometimes between Oct. 3 and Oct. 10, before the legal hunting season opened in the area.
The carcasses were left to waste, with no meat, heads or antlers taken, Game and Fish reported.
Avid hunter J.R. Larsen of Douglas said the case baffles and angers him.
“I don’t need to kill just to be killing,” he said.
“And not even taking the meat? What’s up with that? Grow up, have some ethics,” added Larsen, the southern Wyoming regional director for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF).
Noted Wyoming outdoorsman Paul Ulrich said the loss of the bulls will reverberate beyond just this hunting season.
“This takes away an opportunity for perhaps a young hunter to get his or her first bull. Three times over. How disgusting. How pathetic,” said Ulrich, a founding member of the wildlife ethics group Wyoming Sportsmanship.
In a separate incident, the carcass of a cow moose outfitted with a tracking collar was found off Union Pass Road outside of Dubois.
Collar data indicate that she likely died Oct. 17 and may have been wounded as early as Oct. 15, according to Game and Fish.
The loss of a breeding-age female comes as a blow to the already-struggling Jackson moose herd, Aly Courtemanch, Game and Fish's North Jackson Wildlife Biologist, told Cowboy State Daily.
‘Thrill Killing’
Though the motives of the poacher or poachers remain unknown, Larsen said there’s a grim likelihood the elk were shot purely for fun.
“It sounds like a glory or a thrill-killing," he said.
Ulrich said that if and when the poacher or poachers are caught, they’ll become pariahs in the hunting community.
“This is the most egregious poaching and one of the most unethical cases I’ve seen in a long time. I’m sick to my stomach over what has happened,” he said.
Wyoming Sportsmanship was founded partly in response to the case of a wolf being run over with a snowmobile, then captured and tormented for hours before it was finally killed in Daniel in February 2024.
Area resident Cody Roberts later pleaded guilty to a felony animal cruelty charge and was sentenced to unsupervised probation, with an 18- to 24-month prison term possible if he fails probation.
Wyoming Sportsmanship was instrumental in getting a “clean kill bill” passed by the Legislature, which penalizes deliberately prolonging a predator’s suffering.
The group similarly opposes poaching and hopes hunters will see the Hyattville elk poaching as a “call to action,” Ulrich said.
That entails making sure young hunters are taught proper ethics and obey all laws and regulations, he said.
Game wardens also rely heavily on hunters to be their “eyes and ears” in the field and to promptly report wrongdoing, Ulrich added.
Moose Herd Can’t Afford Loss
The loss of a “prime age” cow is a huge setback for the Jackson moose herd, Courtemanch said in a Game and Fish statement.
It takes away not only that animal but also any calves she might have had, Courtemanch said.
The cow was outfitted with a GPS tracking collar in the Gros Ventre drainage in February 2025 as part of a multi-year research project led by Courtemanch and researchers from the University of Wyoming.
Collar data indicate she died about 2 p.m. Oct. 17. Her movements indicate she might have been wounded two days earlier, according to Game and Fish.
The herd can’t afford such a loss, Courtemanch wrote in an email to Cowboy State Daily.
“The Jackson moose herd declined by approximately 70% between the late 1980s and early 2000s. In the late 1980s, biologists were counting about 1,000 moose, compared to about 300 today,” she stated.
The herd has suffered multiple setbacks, including the 1988 Yellowstone wildfires, over-browsing of winter forage, drought, parasites and increasing predator populations.
“For the past 20 years, the population has been stable but at low numbers (200 to 400 moose) and has been further impacted by increasing diseases and parasites such as winter ticks and carotid artery worms, vehicle collisions, and warming temperatures,” Courtemanch added.
Information about the elk poaching can be called into the Stop Poaching Hotline, 1-877-WGFD-TIP (1-877-943-3847). Tips may also be submitted online at wgfd.wyo.gov, texted to TIP411 (847-411) with the keyword WGFD.
Tips about the elk poaching can be given to Greybull Game Warden Daniel Tisi at 307-899-1269 or the Cody Game and Fish regional office at 307-527-7125.
For the moose poaching, call Dubois Game Warden Brian Baker at 307-438-0608, Lander Game Warden Robert Shipe at 307-330-6345, or the Lander Regional Office at 307-332-2688.
Tipsters can remain anonymous and might be eligible for a reward.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
