Outdoors

Wojtek was an orphaned brown bear cub that was adopted by Polish soldiers during World War II and served honorably during the war. He helped move ammunition during battle and achieved the rank of corporal.

Polish Army Fought Alongside 600-Pound Bear Who Liked Booze & Cigarettes In World War II

As a Polish war unit prepared to enter the war zone in Italy in 1943, they hit a snag because animals were not allowed to accompany troops into battle but they got around that rule. They officially enlisted the bear as a private, giving him a salary and a serial number.

Mark HeinzNovember 24, 2024

Lucy Barnard walked into Wyoming over the Continental Divide in October 2024. Her goal is to walk to Yellowstone National Park by December before she must return to Australia to renew her passport. She is walking the length of the earth and is gathering a group of women to join her on the last leg of the trip in Alaska.

Australian Woman Hiking Through Wyoming On Quest To Walk Length Of The Earth

Australian Lucy Barnard is walking 18,000 miles from the tip of South America to the top of North America to become the first woman to walk the length of the earth. She’s now in Wyoming, getting to Lander after hiking across the Red Desert.

Jackie DorothyNovember 24, 2024

Fierce Loyalty Of Wyoming’s Wolf Packs Make It Easier To Track Them

Wyoming's 350 wolves are scattered among 30 packs, raising the question of how those wolves, packs and pack membership are tracked. It's quite simple. They don't veer outside their packs. They live and die with the packs they were born into.

Mark HeinzNovember 23, 2024

A station with bags for people to pick up and pack out their poo while hiking on Mount Elbert in Colorado, the second tallest peak in the Lower 48.

No More Free-Range Pooping: Human-Poop Bags At Hiking Trailheads Are A Thing Now

“Sustainable pooping” has become an outdoors recreation catchphrase, with people expected to pack their own human waste out in plastic bags. Kiosks with these human-poop bags are popping up along popular hiking trails, like Mount Elbert in Colorado.

Mark HeinzNovember 22, 2024

If Wyoming Grizzlies Make It To Utah, They’ll Probably Get Sent Back

While it’s almost certain that Wyoming grizzlies will eventually migrate into Utah, they won’t be welcome to stay there. Unlike Wyoming, Utah does not have a sustainable habitat for grizzly bears.

Mark HeinzNovember 22, 2024

One of 10 wolves reintroduced to northern Colorado in December 2023.

After Colorado Wolf Found With Bullet Wound, Group Puts Up $50K In Rewards

After a bullet wound was found in a wolf carcass in Colorado, a conservation group has set up a $50,000 reward fund for tips about illegal wolf killings.

Mark HeinzNovember 20, 2024

Montana wildlife agents sometimes use drones to chase grizzly bears away from farms and ranches on the high plains.

One Way To Scare Grizzlies Away: Yell At Them Over Drone Speakers

Montana wildlife officials have been yelling at prairie grizzlies through the speakers on drones to scare the bears away from people. But that doesn’t always work, like the Colorado black bear who didn’t budge when blasted with heavy metal music.

Mark HeinzNovember 19, 2024

Coyotes and badgers will team up to hunt prairie dogs and ground squirrels. Between the coyotes’ agility and the badgers’ digging power, the rodents don’t stand a chance.

Wyoming Coyotes And Badgers Will Team Up To Hunt Prairie Dogs

Coyotes and badgers in Wyoming will team up to hunt prairie dogs. Badgers dig into the rodents’ dens, while the coyotes wait at the exit to snatch any varmints trying to escape.

Mark HeinzNovember 18, 2024

A wildland firefighter walks along the edge of the Dixie Fire in northern California in 2021. This firefighter’s job is to help monitor the ongoing backfiring operation and to watch for any embers falling onto the wrong side of the control line.

Wyoming Hotshot’s Photographs Give Rare Behind-The-Scenes Look At Wildfires

Wyoming Hotshot Capt. Kyle Miller’s photographs are on display at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody in a new exhibition. His stunning images give a rare behind-the-scenes look at wildfires and the people who fight them.

Amber SteinmetzNovember 17, 2024

What's being called a 20-year storm left much of Colorado under deep snow this past week, which crusted over and forced herds of antelope onto eastern Colorado roads, where about 150 were killed, including 53 at once.

Winter Storm Drives 150 Antelope To Their Deaths, Including 53 From One Truck Accident

150 antelope were killed earlier this week when a winter storm blasted eastern Colorado with snow and sent the animals onto the highways. That includes 53 antelope which were plowed down in a single accident.

Mark HeinzNovember 16, 2024

A view along Highway 14 shows large patches of black where the Elk Fire burned on the eastern Bighorn Mountains in northern Wyoming.

After 7 Weeks And 100,000 Acres Burned, Elk Fire Is 100% Contained

After more than seven weeks, the Elk Fire is officially 100% contained. The late-season wildfire scorched nearly 100,000 acres in the Bighorn Mountains and came close to burning the rural towns of Dayton and Parkman.

Greg JohnsonNovember 15, 2024

The rugged and remote Green Mountain area in the Laramie Range in Albany County is prized for its elk and bighorn sheep hunting. The proposed Britania Land Exchange would trade rugged Forest Service Land in Albany for two parchels farther to the north.

Fight Over Prime Wyoming Hunting Land Exchange Headed To Federal Court

A legal fight is brewing over a U.S. Forest Service land exchange that would take a "hunter's paradise" parcel in Wyoming's Laramie Range out of public use. Opponents of the swap filed a court petition to stop it this week and are threatening a lawsuit.

Mark HeinzNovember 14, 2024

Colorado Says If You See A Deer In The Road, Hit It. Don’t Try To “Save Bambi”

If a deer jumps out in front of your vehicle on the road, Colorado officials say it could be best to just hit it. Swerving to try and “save Bambi” could lead to even more tragic results.

Mark HeinzNovember 14, 2024

An elk hunt near Sybille Canyon in southeast Wyoming became a mountain lion hunt for Matt Rivord of Laramie. He said more and more mountain lions have been showing up there.

Having A Mountain Lion Tag, Just In Case, Pays Off For Wyoming Elk Hunting Guide

Hunters keeping just-in-case mountain lion tags in their pocket when they’re out after elk and deer is increasingly common. It paid off for a Wyoming elk hunting guide.

Mark HeinzNovember 13, 2024

Wildlife biologist Cat Wood studied and photographed wolverines in Alaska, like in this file photo. She says a video taken Tuesday morning near Yellowstone National Park, though blurry, shows a wolverine.

Blurry Video Near Yellowstone May Be Extremely Rare Wolverine Sighting

A blurry video taken early Tuesday shows a creature bounding across a highway near Yellowstone National Park. Though the footage is blurry, the man who took it says it was a wolverine, and a wildlife biologist agrees.

Mark HeinzNovember 12, 2024

Trump’s Win Could Tip The Scales In Favor Of Delisting Wyoming’s Grizzlies

With the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, it’s possible that federal protections could be removed for Wyoming’s grizzly bears.

Mark HeinzNovember 12, 2024

Plunging Temps Get Wyoming Big Game Moving, Increase Odds For Hunters

After a scorching start to hunting season in September and October, colder temperatures and snow in November are helping hunters out.

Mark HeinzNovember 11, 2024

Conditions were snowy and deep in Leo Wolfson’s first day of the year on skis in the backcountry.

Back On Skis And It's Not Even Thanksgiving

The snowstorms that hit the Rocky Mountains last week produced some rare early November skiing -- if you are willing to work for it. Cowboy State Daily’s Leo Wolfson went backcountry skiing in northern Colorado on Saturday and said the conditions were ideal.

Leo WolfsonNovember 11, 2024

Many modern pistol designs feature a safety lever built into the trigger. That mitigates the risk of accidental firing, if the pistol is being carried with a round in the firing chamber.

Wyoming Outdoorsmen Say In Grizzly Country, Have A Round Chambered In Your Handgun

When a grizzly is charging and milliseconds count, it’s best to have a round already chambered in a defensive handgun, Wyoming outdoorsmen told Cowboy State Daily. A hunter who shot and killed charging grizzly last month says it saved his life.

Mark HeinzNovember 10, 2024

It’s been nearly 30 years since John Talbott, inset, then Wyoming Game and Fish director, got caught fishing without a license and resigned.

That Time Wyoming’s Game And Fish Director Was Caught Fishing Without A License

It’s been nearly 30 years since John Talbott, then Wyoming Game and Fish director, got caught fishing without a license and resigned. The incident still lives on in Wyoming author C.J. Box’s “Joe Pickett” novels.

Mark HeinzNovember 09, 2024

Sydnee Chapman poses for a photo outside her camper van in Joshua Tree National Park, California. Chapman has traveled through eight states since moving into the van earlier this summer.

Starting My Van Life Journey In Wyoming: The Wind And Isolation Are For Real

Sydnee Chapman writes, “I was convinced I would be killed or kidnapped on my first night sleeping in my recently bought campervan. The wind gusts at the rest stop somewhere between Laramie and Evanston were a far cry from the glorious lifestyles you see under #vanlife on social media."

Sydnee ChapmanNovember 09, 2024

Jordan Thorn reached Katahdin, the end of the Appalachian Trail, on Oct. 6. Located in Main it was the end of the five-month journey that began in Georgia.

Georgia To Maine In 5 Months: Gillette Man Hikes 2,198-Mile Appalachian Trail

About 3,000 people attempt the entire distance of the 2,198-mile Appalachian Trail every year. Only 1 in 4 make it. It took Gillette native Jordan Thorn five months to complete it, hitting the end of the trail on October 6 -- but was nearly derailed by illness 100 miles from the end.

Amber SteinmetzNovember 09, 2024

About a month before it was close, Wyoming photographer Tim Doolan hiked to the deck of the Black Mountain Lookout, at 9,400 feet elevation one of the highest points in the Bighorn Range. He captured stunning drone video and photos of the panoramic view. The lookout itself, however, has been shuttered for decades, and now the deck also is closed for repairs.

Black Mountain Lookout: The Best View In The Bighorns Has Seen Better Days

The 84-year-old Black Mountain Fire Lookout sits at an elevation of 9,400 feet and offers a spectacular panoramic view of Wyoming’s northern Bighorns. Although it's been boarded up for decades, the Forest Service is hoping it can be fixed and opened to the public.

Andrew RossiNovember 09, 2024

Are Coloradans Shooting At Wolves? Bullet Wound Sparks Speculation

A Colorado wolf found dead was killed by another wolf, but also had an old bullet wound, state officials reported this week. It’s sparked speculation that Coloradans have started taking potshots at wolves.