🚧 Outdoors | Cowboy State Daily

Finally fed up with raccoons raiding his food and shelter, a young Wyoming barn cat put the smackdown on a raccoon twice its size.

Finally Fed Up, Wyoming Barn Cat Takes On Raccoon Raider Twice Its Size

Raccoons have been raiding the food and shelter of a group of Wyoming barn cats on a rural property near Casper – but one brave little kitty finally had enough and put the smackdown on a raccoon raider twice his size.

Mark HeinzJanuary 10, 2024

Limpy, a coyote that lives in the Larmar area of Yellowstone National Park, has mastered looking pathetic for tourists, in hopes of getting snacks. Feeding wildlife is strictly forbidden in Yellowstone.

Yellowstone Coyote Named ‘Limpy’ Tries To Sucker Tourists For Snacks

A coyote in Yellowstone known as Limpy or Tripod has gained a fanbase because of his sly panhandling routine. He shows up along the road and exaggerates a leg injury in hopes of scoring sympathy snacks.

Mark HeinzJanuary 09, 2024

Florida Alligator Hunter Wants To Teach Wyomingites How To Hunt Half-Ton Gators

Florida alligator hunter Matthew Burke is working to set up a mentorship program between Wyoming and Florida where Floridians would teach Wyomingites how to hunt alligator and in return, Wyomingites would teach Floridians how to hunt elk.

Mark HeinzJanuary 08, 2024

Wyoming beavers are such good builders that this dam holds up to a large bull moose walking across it, caught on Beaver Dam Cams, a project of Wyoming Untrapped.

Beaver Dam Cams Are The Captivating Ring Doorbells For Wyoming Wildlife

Beaver Dam Cams are becoming the Wyoming wildlife version of Ring doorbell cams, showing the bears, moose, foxes and other critters that use beaver dams as nature’s highway.

January 06, 2024

Nevada Man Goes After 500-Pound Black Bear In Crawlspace With Paintball Gun

Wyoming bear experts aren’t impressed with a Nevada man who’s being hailed as having “balls of steel” for crawling under his porch after a 500-pound black bear with a paintball gun. Instead, they say he has “brains of pudding.”

Mark HeinzJanuary 05, 2024

Wyoming Elk ‘Behind Schedule’ Filling Up National Elk Refuge

Warm weather and light snow have put the migration into the National Elk Refuge near Jackson behind schedule, but plunging temperatures and snowstorms should change that soon.

Mark HeinzJanuary 05, 2024

Cheyenne resident Warren Burgess got video of this mink carrying a dead rabbit at Curt Gowdy State Park.

Hiker Gets Rare Video of Wyoming Mink At Curt Gowdy State Park

A Cheyenne man is glad he decided to go hiking instead of mountain biking in Curt Gowdy State Park this week, otherwise he might have missed a rare encounter with a mink dragging a rabbit carcass.

Mark HeinzJanuary 04, 2024

Snow geese gather at Freezout Lake Wildlife Management Area in Montana in this file photo. Temperatures have been unseasonable warm so far this winter, which has kept waterfowl from migrating south and into the sights of Wyoming hunters.

It’s So Warm, Birds Are Staying Up North And Out Of Reach For Wyoming Hunters

An unusually warm fall and early winter has made for lackluster waterfowl hunting in Wyoming as birds are staying north in Canada and Montana, but there’s some hope that things will pick up as seasons wind down.

Mark HeinzJanuary 04, 2024

This Winter Looking Less Deadly Than Last For Wyoming Mule Deer

Despite devastating winterkill losses in parts of Wyoming last year, mule deer are going into this winter with a lot in their favor.

Mark HeinzJanuary 03, 2024

When Wyoming birders searched for American tree sparrows and Rough-legged hawks this year, the birds were scarce. Enthusiasts are blaming the warmer winter.

Fewer Arctic Birds Than Usual In Wyoming Because Of Unseasonably Warm Winter

Birds that migrate to Wyoming in the winter have been scarce this year due to the unseasonably warm temperatures throughout America and Canada, while birds with "no business" staying this late are lingering.

Leo WolfsonJanuary 03, 2024

After surviving a mountain lion attack, Odin still loves to go outside on his family’s property in rural Crook County.

Crook County Dog ‘Odin’ Loses Eye In Wyoming Mountain Lion Attack

True to being named after the one-eyed Norse god “Odin,” a 15-pound Cairn Terrier from Crook County survived an October mountain lion attack that cost him his left eye.

Mark HeinzJanuary 03, 2024

A trio of young mountain lions caught on a rural Wyoming trail camera.

Rural Wyoming Trail Cam Catches Rare Video Of Mountain Lion With Kittens

Wyoming resident Donald Harris got a rare treat on one of his trail cameras Saturday — a momma mountain lion with three kittens in tow.

Mark HeinzJanuary 02, 2024

Sally Maughan founded Idaho Black Bear Rehab in Garden City, Idaho in 1989, and continued working with bear cubs until her death in 2021.

Bear Rescue Gives Wyoming Bruins ‘A Second Chance At Freedom’

When Amy Kidwell started donating food to Idaho Black Bear Rehabilitation, she had no idea that she’d eventually take over the operation, which has rescued a number of black bears from Wyoming and around the region.

Mark HeinzJanuary 02, 2024

Uncle Tom's Trail hangs precariously off the cliff face descending into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. It's now unsafe and closed, but still turns heads.

Yellowstone's Uncle Tom's Trail is Steep, Exhilarating — And Permanently Closed

The 328-step metal step staircase descending into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone offers spectacular views but is permanently closed. It was known as one of the most daring and exhilarating trails in the park but maintenance costs have forced its closure.

Andrew RossiDecember 31, 2023

Mike Romano, who owns a ranch near Devils Tower, was raised in Pennsylvania, but has come to love Wyoming and its wildlife.

Wyoming People: ‘Iron Mike’ Shares Devils Tower Retirement With Lots Of Mountain Lions

After traveling the world for an industrial explosives company, Mike Romano retired and finally has time to pursue his new passion — learning all he can about all the Wyoming mountain lions on his land near Devils Tower.

Mark HeinzDecember 30, 2023

During the rut, or mating season, for bighorn sheep, rams gather to crack horns in an area near Dubois that fans call “Ramland Wyoming.”

Famed ‘Ramland Wyoming’ Bighorn Herd Can’t Shake Pneumonia Breakout

There's no better place to view bighorn sheep in the state than "Ramland Wyoming," near Dubois. However, the animals are suffering from a lingering pneumonia outbreak that has taken the herd of 2,500 down to about 750.

Mark HeinzDecember 29, 2023

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.