Outdoors

Cowboy State Daily's Top 20 Wyoming Sunrises of 2023

Every morning, Cowboy State Daily publishes a reader-submitted daily sunrise photo. Here are the top 20 photos that received the most engagement on social media in 2023. Enjoy ...

Jimmy OrrDecember 29, 2023

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

Wyoming Ranchers Prepared To "Shoot On Sight" If Colorado Wolves Cross State Line

Now that Colorado has wolves — some of which have a history of killing cattle in Oregon — Wyoming ranchers are banking on Wyoming's “shoot on sight” policy for whenever those wolves cross over. "They’re classified as predators and they can be removed,” said one rancher.

Mark HeinzDecember 28, 2023

Colorado outdoors and wildlife photographer describes the planning and effort it took to be in just the right place at just the right time to get this stunning pose from a huge bull moose with the Tetons in the background.

Huge Wyoming Bull Moose Gives Wildlife Photographer Once-In-A-Lifetime Pose

Wildlife photographer Anita Wooldridge said it took a lot of planning, effort and a little luck to get once-in-a-lifetime photos of a giant Wyoming bull moose near the Tetons.

Andrew RossiDecember 27, 2023

An orphaned black bear cub, “Alice,” was found in Teton County, trapped by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and sent to the Idaho Black Bear Rehab shelter.

Severely Malnourished And Motherless Bear Cub Rescued By Game And Fish

Wyoming Game and Fish officials last week rescued a severely malnourished and motherless black bear cub and took it to an Idaho bear rescue facility for rehabilitation. They expect it will be released back to the wild next year.

Mark HeinzDecember 27, 2023

The annual sleigh rides through the National Elk Refuge near Jackson, Wyoming, gets people almost close enough to touch the thousands of wild elk that come down to feed there.

Wyoming Winter Tourism: Elk Refuge Sleigh Rides Offer Intimate Tours With Wildlife

The Double H Bar in Teton County hosts nearly 40,000 visitors for sleigh rides every season. In addition to elk, passengers routinely see bison, moose, coyotes, bald eagles, trumpeter swans, ravens and other wildlife.

Jake NicholsDecember 23, 2023

A polar bear sow and her cub seem oblivious to this group of bear watchers.

Candy Moulton: Exploring The Sub-Arctic Tundra With 700 Polar Bears

Our guide told us the polar bears were opening their mouths wide because that is how they smell. Their eyesight isn’t great, but they can smell a seal through feet of pack ice … or the aroma of a couple of Wyoming tourists standing on the back platform of the tundra buggy.

Candy MoultonDecember 23, 2023

Flamethrowers, Chainsaws, Guns: Last-Minute Gifts For The Outdoors-Person Who Has Everything

What do you get the outdoors enthusiasts on your Christmas list who already have everything they need? Outdoors reporter Mark Heinz has some suggestions ranging from flamethrowers to chainsaws to deer teeth...

Mark HeinzDecember 22, 2023

Grizzly bears getting hit by trains isn't a big problem in Wyoming, but is still a concern for wildlife officials.

Environmental Groups Sue BNSF Over Grizzlies Getting Drunk, Hit By Trains

Two environmental groups are suing Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad for being too careless about its trains killing drunk grizzlies. The grizzlies eat fermented grain on the railroad tracks, pass out, and then get run over.

Mark HeinzDecember 22, 2023

Dr. Joe McGinley of Casper has been on a 10-year mission to climb the highest peak on all seven continents. He attempts Antarctica just after Christmas, which would be No. 6.

Off To Antarctica: Casper Climber’s Quest For 7 Peaks On 7 Continents Continues

Dr. Joe McGinley of Casper leaves the day after Christmas for Antarctica to climb that continent’s tallest peak, the 16,050-foot Mount Vinson. It will be the sixth of his quest to conquer the highest mountains on all seven continents.

Dale KillingbeckDecember 22, 2023

‘Flying Deer’ Isn’t A Christmas Gag, It’s Common Wildlife Biology Practice

Wildlife researchers frequently move deer by slinging them under a helicopter, which means Santa doesn’t have an exclusive on flying critters. But unlike Rudolph, Wyoming’s flying deer need a little help to get airborne.

Mark HeinzDecember 21, 2023

Grizzly 399 Likely Hibernating While Warm Weather Has Kept Other Bears Out Late

Wildlife photographers who have followed Grizzly 399 for years, say the bear and her super-sized cub have likely gone into hibernation. Not so for many other bears, however, as warm weather has kept them active in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Mark HeinzDecember 21, 2023

Backcountry skier Nick Gaddy captured a Wyoming wolverine tearing across the snow Monday while exploring near the Montana state line.

Backcountry Skier Gets Rare Video Of Wyoming Wolverine Tearing Across The Snow

Wolverines are so rare and elusive, even people who spend countless hours in the vast outdoors never get to see one. On Monday, backcountry skier Nick Gaddy took video of one ripping across an alpine snowfield on the Wyoming side of the state line near Cooke City.

Mark HeinzDecember 20, 2023

This ram was mistakenly shot in the wrong hunting area by a licensed hunter in Fremont County, and subsequently seized by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Fremont County officials would like to have a taxidermy mount of it in the county courthouse.

Fremont County Officials May Mount And Display Mistakenly Shot Bighorn Ram

A bighorn sheep ram that was allegedly shot in the wrong hunting area in Fremont County might grace the county courthouse – if elected officials can pony up a $1,500 taxidermist’s fee.

Mark HeinzDecember 20, 2023

Colorado Cheers Release Of Wolves, Wyoming Ranchers Not So Much

As Colorado officials cheered the release of five wolves Monday, ranchers on the Wyoming side of the state line say it’s only a matter of time before they have to deal with them.

Mark HeinzDecember 19, 2023

After waiting 14 years to draw a Wyoming bison hunting tag, Troy Jerup of Bondurant went on his dream hunt for wild bison this fall and bagged this trophy-sized bull.

Wyoming Man Bags 1-Ton Monster Bull Bison In Once-In-A-Lifetime Hunt

A Bondurant man put in for a bison hunting tag for 14 years before drawing one – and after hunting the lumbering beasts in the wild, he dropped a 1-ton trophy-class free-range bull.

Mark HeinzDecember 18, 2023

One of a pair of mountain lions Ruzena Rok and her husband that were around their Lincoln County home for five days.

Star Valley Couple Captures ‘Five Days Of Mountain Lions’ On Video

A couple from in Lincoln County were surprised recently, but not alarmed, when a pair of mountain lions lingered near their driveway for five, feasting on the carcass of a deer that they’d killed. So they setup a videocamera and watched them for nearly a week.

Mark HeinzDecember 17, 2023

A pronghorn with a trio of drilling rigs in the background.

Oil, Gas Wells Don’t Bother Antelope In Prime Wyoming Migration Route

Instead of harming antelope along Wyoming’s “Path of the Pronghorn” migration route, oil and gas wells might have spared some from freezing to death during the devastating winter of 2022-2023.

Mark HeinzDecember 17, 2023

ATF agent demonstrates firing a Glock pistol with a switch attached to make it full-auto in this video posted by WTHR in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Turning A Semi-Automatic Gun Into A Machine Gun Has Some Serious Drawbacks

Although to some, it may sound like a fun idea, converting semi-automatic firearms to fully automatic is illegal, unsafe and probably not worth the risk of huge fines and prison time, say Wyoming gun enthusiasts.

Mark HeinzDecember 16, 2023

Francis Wharton smiles. The Canadian's claim to fame is making a set of dentures out of deer's teeth — then eating the deer with its own teeth.

Man Shoots Deer, Makes Dentures From Deer, Then Eats Deer With Dentures

A rugged Canadian woodsman once made himself dentures out of a deer’s teeth — and then ate the deer with its own teeth. A Wyoming dentist said that was ingenious, but not advisable. A Wyoming outdoorsman calls it “badass.”

Mark HeinzDecember 15, 2023

Golden eagles are found through out the West and Wyoming.

Wyoming Golden Eagles May Have Been Among 3,600 Birds Slaughtered In Montana

Some of the 3,600 birds allegedly slaughtered by two Montana men during a multi-year killing spree could have been golden eagles from Wyoming. The two men were indicted by a federal grand jury in Montana last week.

Mark HeinzDecember 14, 2023

If A Bear Charges You While Skiing, Go Fast Or Trip Someone, Says Ski Instructor

Video of a bear charging across a Lake Tahoe ski slope on Sunday has a Wyoming ski and snowboard instructor advising a skier’s best options are speed, or putting a slower skier between you and the bear.

Mark HeinzDecember 12, 2023

A pack of gray wolves runs through the wilderness in northwest Wyoming.

Wyoming Ranchers Near Border Brace For Colorado To Get Wolves This Month

Some Wyoming and Colorado ranchers aren’t fans of Colorado’s plan to reintroduce gray wolves this month. It will harm big game herds and possibly threaten smaller, endangered Mexican wolves, they say.

Mark HeinzDecember 11, 2023

Wyoming's Grizzly Population Unlikely To Turn Into Inbred Redneck Hillbillies

Despite only receiving a few grizzly bears per decade in Yellowstone, Wyoming's grizzlies are not in danger of turning into inbred redneck hillbillies as the genetic pool is large enough where inbreeding is not yet a concern.

Mark HeinzDecember 10, 2023

This big mule deer buck is one of three in Sheridan that got into the holiday spirit, so to speak, by snagging Christmas lights on its antlers.

Three Deer Running Around Sheridan With Christmas Lights In Their Antlers

Santa may have a bunch of flying reindeer, but the deer in Sheridan have the most holiday spirit – at least those three bucks that have been strutting around town with Christmas lights in their antlers.

Mark HeinzDecember 08, 2023

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