🚧 Outdoors | Cowboy State Daily

West Yellowstone Residents Share Their Homes With Herds Of Backyard Bison

Yellowstone National Park's bison are mostly contained to the park, but West Yellowstone, Montana, is one place where they roam freely. At wildlife photographer Trent Sizemore’s house, these backyard bison spar on the lawn and lounge in the driveway.

Andrew RossiApril 09, 2025

USAF Tested Its B-58 Jet Bomber By Ejecting A Bear Named Yogi At 35,000 Feet

In 1962, the Air Force ejected a bear named Yogi from a jet bomber going 870 mph at an altitude of 35,000 feet. In hindsight, a retired USAF colonel questions how anyone thought that was a good idea.

Mark HeinzApril 08, 2025

Romulus and Remus, the two dire wolf pups created by Colossal Biosciences, are recorded giving their first howls.

Dire Wolves Resurrected From Prehistoric DNA As ‘World’s First De-Extinct Animals’

A company revealed Monday it’s created the “world’s first de-extinct animals,” two wolf pups genetically modified to resemble extinct dire wolves. The same company has said it also may soon "resurrect" woolly mammoths.

Andrew RossiApril 08, 2025

Blacktail Ponds in Yellowstone can be a bison death trap in the winter as they fall in and can't get out.

Yellowstone’s Blacktail Pond Is A Bison Death Trap, But A Buffet For Bears

The Blacktail Pond area in Yellowstone National Park can be a death trap for bison if they fall through ice or get trapped in muddy water and drown. But for the area's bears, it's a buffet.

Mark HeinzApril 07, 2025

A skunk is caught on a wildlife trail cam stashing pieces of a turkey carcass in a mountain lion's den.

Fearless Skunk Caught Stashing Its Dinner Of Roadkill In Mountain Lion’s Den

Skunks will eat just about anything and they’re fearless, as evidenced by a video of a skunk stashing its dinner of roadkill turkey in a mountain lion’s den.

Mark HeinzApril 07, 2025

Helicopter Plucks Trees From Colorado State Parks Like An Arcade Claw Game

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is using a contraption slung under a helicopter to pluck dead trees out of a state park, not unlike “claw machine” arcade games.

Mark HeinzApril 06, 2025

As Wyoming black bears emerge from hibernation, bear hunters are tempting them in with bait barrels.

When Hunting Black Bears In Wyoming, Don’t Get Mauled By A Hangry Grizzly

After a relatively mild winter, Wyoming hunters are looking forward to spring black bear season. But lots of hangry and irritated grizzlies are out there, too.

Mark HeinzApril 05, 2025

Think You Can Survive A Charging Grizzly? Take On Wyoming’s ‘Robobear’

Think you can survive a charging grizzly just because you have bear spray with you? Wyoming Game and Fish’s “Robobear” is an eye-opener, as Cowboy State Daily reporters Clair McFarland and Mark Heinz recently learned.

Mark Heinz & Clair McFarlandApril 05, 2025

A pronghorn struggles to move along a section of woven-wire fencing in deep snow in the Green River Basin of western Wyoming. Pronghorn in the Red Desert faced similar obstacles during their escape movements in the winter of 2022-23, contributing to a mass die-off.

During Brutal Winter Die-Off, Antelope Got Lost, Trapped By Fences And Roads

Many of the antelope that froze or starved during the brutal winter of 2022-2023 got lost and died after they hit fences they couldn’t cross, according to a new University of Wyoming-led study.

Mark HeinzApril 04, 2025

A grizzly tries to get intop this trash can.

Grizzly Killed A Man In Yellowstone In 1916, So They Blew It Up With Dynamite

The first documented fatal grizzly attack in Yellowstone National Park was in 1916 by a bear dubbed Old Two Toes. Federal workers responded by blowing the grizzly into oblivion using a garbage barrel booby-trapped with dynamite.

Mark HeinzApril 04, 2025

Yellowstone's First ‘Red Dog’ Bison Calf Of 2025 Comes Early

Yellowstone's first bison calf of 2025 was spotted in the Lamar Valley on Sunday, making it an early addition to the park's bison herds. A Wyoming photographer got photos of the first “red dog” of the season.

Andrew RossiApril 04, 2025

Adobe town, south of Rock Springs along rough gravel and dirt roads, is one of Wyoming’s most isolated locations.

Sweetwater County Turns To Hageman For Help On BLM Rock Springs Plan

It remains uncertain how the Bureau of Land Management’s plan for 3.6 million acres in south-central Wyoming will pan out. But Sweetwater County officials hope it stays to their liking.

Mark HeinzApril 02, 2025

Grizzly Chased From Old Faithful By Ornery Yellowstone Bison Herd

Yellowstone grizzlies may be at the top of the food chain, but even the apex predator has to think twice about tangling with a herd of ornery bison. The Old Faithful webcam Monday caught the herd sending a grizzly running for cover.

Andrew RossiMarch 31, 2025

Candida Haasch runs the Warriors of the Rainbow Horse Sanctuary in Missouri and would love to adopt curly-haired mustangs from Wyoming.

Missouri Trainer Wants All The Wyoming Curly-Haired Mustangs She Can Get

A Missouri horse trainer says she’ll take all the curly-haired Wyoming mustangs she can get. She says they’d be perfect for a prisoner-rehabilitation program similar to what the Wyoming Honor Farm has.

Mark HeinzMarch 30, 2025

For someone who has long gravitated to the mountains, Lester was impressed by the views he got to appreciate from his seat in the canoe. "I was blown away by how much beauty was around every corner."

Butte Man’s Epic Canoe Trip From Montana To The Pacific Made Into Movie

For a guy who goes by “Mountain King” online, Robert Lester finds it a bit “crazy” that he’s become known for canoeing. His epic 52-day canoe trip from Butte, Montana, to the Pacific Ocean has been made into a documentary.

Anna-Louise JacksonMarch 30, 2025

Sandhill cranes take flight at Wyoming’s Table Mountain wildlife habitat management area.

Thousands Of Cranes Pour Into Wyoming For Spring Migration, Even A Few Whoopers

Sandhill cranes are pouring into Wyoming by the thousands during spring migration. A few rare whooping cranes are showing up too. Many cranes come here to nest and raise their young.

Mark HeinzMarch 29, 2025

The GeyserTimes Dashboard of webcams has become a wildly popular way for people to visit Yellowstone National Park year-round from anywhere on the planet. Fans also name their favorite features, like "The Sitting Sasquatch Tree" in the Upper Geyser Basin.

People Love Spotting ‘Sitting Sasquatch Tree’ On Yellowstone Webcams

GeyserTimes is more than a real-time view of Yellowstone National Park, it's a venue for park fans to share data and banter about their favorite spot on the planet. Wildlife, geysers and even the “Sitting Sasquatch Tree” are favorites on its webcams.

Andrew RossiMarch 29, 2025

The Casper Rail Trail currently has 6 miles of pathway in place and two additional miles of construction are planned this year out to Edness K. Wilkins State Park.

Wyoming Remains Huge Gap In 3,700-Mile Cross-Country Trail System

An ambitious effort to build more than 3,700 miles of trails across 12 states and Washington, D.C., moves ahead. But Wyoming remains a huge gap in connecting the West and East coasts.

Dale KillingbeckMarch 29, 2025

A pack of gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park.

If Feds Delist Wolves Everywhere, Will Colorado’s Reintroduction Program Crash?

A push is underway to get wolves delisted from federal protection across the Lower 48, but it remains unclear how that might affect wolf management policies in Wyoming and Colorado.

Mark HeinzMarch 28, 2025

A North Carolina man uses a bear suit black bears off his lawn. Some Wyomingites said trying that with a grizzly would be insane. They could maul you, or worse, try to get frisky.

Man In Bear Suit Scares Off Black Bear; He’s Lucky It Wasn’t A Wyoming Grizzly

A North Carolina man uses a bear suit to scare black bears off his lawn. Some Wyomingites said trying that with a grizzly would be insane. They could maul you, or worse, try to get frisky.

Mark HeinzMarch 27, 2025

Yellowstone’s Bison have merged into a “single breeding population,” according to a new study. It might be necessary to establish new herds in places like Wyoming’s Red Desert to prevent inbreeding.

New Herd In Wyoming’s Red Desert Could Save Yellowstone Bison From Inbreeding

Yellowstone’s bison have merged into a “single breeding population,” according to a new study. Because of that, it might be necessary at some point to establish new herds in places like Wyoming’s Red Desert to prevent inbreeding.

Mark HeinzMarch 26, 2025

It was a "humbling experience" when WYDOT heavy equipment operator Shaun Emmett got his snowplow stuck on the Chief Joseph Highway on Monday, the first time he’s been totally stuck in 22 years of plowing Wyoming highways.

After 22 Years, A First For WYDOT Snowplow Driver — He Gets Stuck In A Drift

In what he calls a "humbling experience,” a veteran WYDOT snowplow driver got his plow stuck for the first time in 22 years Monday. He was trying to get through a 4-foot-deep drift blocking both lanes.

Andrew RossiMarch 25, 2025

Images from a video taken by the Steve and Vlada March family shows a violent eruption of Black Diamond Pool in Yellowstone National Park on July 23, 2024.

Yellowstone Pool That Exploded Last Summer Is Still Closed — And Still Exploding

Black Diamond Pool in Yellowstone National Park has been closed since it violently exploded last July. As the park prepares for the summer tourism season, it remains closed — and is still exploding.