🚧 Outdoors | Cowboy State Daily

Jeff Royce of Bozeman, Montana applies medicine to bite wounds that his wife, Jen suffered earlier this month during an otter attack on the Jefferson River.

Montana Woman Says She Feared For Her Life During Otter Attack

A Bozeman, Montana, woman who survived a vicious attack by an otter while float tubing on the Jefferson River says she had a “this is how I’m going to die” moment.

Mark HeinzAugust 10, 2023

Stands of dead timber like this one in Yellowstone National Park are a common sight along Wyoming roads in the wake of a massive pine beetle epidemic. Efforts continue to remove hazardous trees before they fall into the road.

The Standing Dead — Wyoming’s Roadside Ghosts Forests Are Here To Stay

A pine beetle epidemic that ripped through Wyoming during the 2000s and 2010s have created roadside ghost forests in Yellowstone and just about anywhere else the Cowboy State’s roads wind through mountains with forested slopes.

Mark HeinzAugust 10, 2023

Man Holding Infant Walks Right Up To Yellowstone Bison

Despite recent bison gorings, a man holding a small child on Tuesday got dangerously close to a massive bison near Old Faithful.

Mark HeinzAugust 09, 2023

‘No Different Than Friggin’ Grizzly Bears’: Rancher Wants To Trap Wyoming Otters

Following a vicious attack by otters in Montana that left a woman hospitalized, it’s time to start trapping otters in Wyoming, a rancher said. But the Game and Fish Department isn’t ready for an otter season.

Mark HeinzAugust 08, 2023

A man suffered wounds to his upper right arm when a bear bit him as he was relaxing in a hammock in a Colorado campground late Saturday.

Colorado Wildlife Agents Intend To Kill Bear That Bit Man’s Arm

Colorado wildlife agents on Tuesday are tracking and want to kill a black bear that bit a man’s arm while he was relaxing in a hammock over the weekend.

Mark HeinzAugust 08, 2023

It's unusual, but not unheard of, for bears to break into homes while looking for food, as in this file photo from a video of a bear break-in a few years ago.

Man Shoots Bear In His Living Room Near Wyoming

A Montana couple got up close and personal with a black bear that broke into their house last week. It ended up in their living room, where the homeowner shot it with a handgun.

Mark HeinzAugust 07, 2023

‘Surprise’ Grizzly Mauling Near Dubois Leaves Man Hospitalized

A “surprise encounter” grizzly mauling near Dubois early Saturday left a man hospitalized, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

Mark HeinzAugust 07, 2023

Jenna Bourgeois of Big Timber, Montana breeds Karelian Bear Dogs. He likes to camp at Vedauwoo in Wyoming, where there’s plenty of space for the energetic dogs.

Karelian Bear Dogs Can Fend Off Grizzlies, But Are Also Friendly

Karelian bear dogs are trained to protect their owners from grizzly bears, but are also friendly enough to make good family dogs.

Mark HeinzAugust 05, 2023

Otter Attacks Women Tubing On Montana River, Sending One To Hospital

A vicious otter attack on a Montana river that left a woman gravely injured mirrors an otter attack near La Barge, Wyoming, several years ago.

Mark HeinzAugust 04, 2023

A wolf in Wyoming gets a drink in this file photo.

Vedauwoo Wolf Sighting Report Likely Legitimate, Biologist Says

A retired wildlife biologist said the reporting of two wolves in the Vedauwoo area between Cheyenne and Laramie is likely legitimate. He said the wolves are probably from Yellowstone or Colorado.

Mark HeinzAugust 03, 2023

The Cheyenne East High School clay target team practices at a local range.

Wyoming Rebuffs Feds That Hunter Education Is ‘Dangerous Weapon Training’

Potential cuts to teaching hunter education in public schools because they provide “dangerous weapon training” are wrong, misguided and would deprive Wyoming kids of valuable “life skills,” local officials say.

Mark HeinzAugust 02, 2023

Black Bear, Cub Killed After Attack Near Wyoming State Line

Game agents tracked down and killed a female black bear and her cub, after the female attacked a homeowner near Victor, Idaho, near the Wyoming state line. The incident mirrors dust-ups with black bears this year in Wyoming.

Mark HeinzAugust 02, 2023

Female hikers in Wyoming are alert after reports from nearby Colorado where a pervert has accosted women on trails.

Colorado Trail Pervert Has Wyoming Outdoorswomen Being Extra Vigilant

Wyoming hikers and trail runners are being extra vigilant after a hit-and-run sexual predator targeting women on some popular Colorado hiking trails remains unidentified.

Mark HeinzAugust 01, 2023

Yellowstone cutthroat trout have struggled in their native waters. The Forest Service is considering killing all the rainbow trout in a popular wilderness creek to give the cutthroats and edge.

Feds Want To Kill Rainbow Trout In Popular Yellowstone Wilderness Drainage

The Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife plan to kill all the rainbow trout in the Buffalo Creek drainage just north of Yellowstone Park and replace them with native cutthroats.

Mark HeinzJuly 31, 2023

Members of the Cheyenne East High School trap shooting team take aim, waiting for a clay target.

Wyoming Coach Criticizes Biden Plan To Cut Money For Shooting Programs

A Biden administration plan to cut federal money for school-sponsored shooting and hunting programs is part of the “wokeism” that’s “ruining America,” says Cheyenne East High trap shooting coach.

Mark HeinzJuly 31, 2023

A mosquito sucks blood. The tiny pest can be more than an annoyance, it can pass on deadly diseases.

What’s The Deadliest Critter In Wyoming? Potentially, It’s The Lowly Mosquito

Although grizzlies get all the attention, biologists say mosquitoes are the deadliest creature in Wyoming. That is, if they're carrying the 'right' disease. So the next time a grizzly is chasing you, just be glad it's not a mosquito.

Jake NicholsJuly 30, 2023

This notch is the only way through “The Great Wall” — one of the highlights of Wyoming’s “Big Balls” backcountry hiking trail.

Explore Wyoming: "Big Balls" Trail Is A Hidden Wilderness Gem

The “Big Balls of Cowtown Trail” — or as it’s more commonly called “Big Balls" — isn’t officially designated on any maps. But for those willing to go the extra miles to find it in the Gros Ventre wilderness, it’s a great hike.

Mark HeinzJuly 30, 2023

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologists examine two yearling sibling grizzlies. The young bears, along with a third sibling (not pictured) had to be tranquilized and relocated from the prairie near Valier, Montana earlier this month. They had been hanging around peoples’ houses.

Rancher Changes View On Prairie Grizzlies, 'We Can Live With These Bears'

One Montana rancher said she resented grizzlies returning to the prairies at first because a bear killed several of her sheep but now she's OK with them reclaiming their home on the range.

Mark HeinzJuly 29, 2023

Farmer Videos Grizzlies Frolicking On His Potato Farm

Normally grizzlies are spotted in mountainous country, but their range has been expanding. Most recently, two grizzlies were filmed on a potato farm in eastern Idaho.

Mark HeinzJuly 27, 2023

Someone built at least five large cairns in the Bighorn National Forest. Photos of the carefully piled rocks has created some controversy.

No, There’s Nothing Ancient Or Mystical About ‘Wyoming’s Stonehenge’: They’re Just Cairns

A cluster of large, carefully made piles of rocks that cropped up in the Bighorn National Forest recently have been dubbed “Wyoming’s Stonehenge” and ginned up an interesting discussion about cairns and whether people should make them or not.

July 27, 2023

Visitors gather to watch the eruption of Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park five days after a Kansas woman was killed by a grizzly on a West Yellowstone hiking trail.

Are Yellowstone Visitors Worried Killer Grizzly Hasn't Been Caught? Most Say No

In the days after a Kansas woman was killed by a grizzly while hiking near West Yellowstone, Cowboy State Daily asked other park visitors if they're concerned there's a killer grizzly on the loose. Nearly all said no.

Andrew RossiJuly 26, 2023

Game & Fish Says Ending Elk Feeding In Wyoming Would Be Bad Idea

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s proposed revisions to its elk feeding program has drawn criticism from environmentalists and agricultural quarters. But the agency claims it’s taking a balanced approach.

Mark HeinzJuly 26, 2023

Wyoming Game and Fish agents had to kill this young grizzly bear after it repeatedly showed bold and aggressive behavior toward people along roads and in campgrounds in northwest Wyoming.

Wyoming Game And Fish Kills Young Grizzly That Raided Campgrounds, Pushed Tent

Wyoming Game and Fish had to kill a young grizzly after the bear kept hanging around campgrounds, displaying increasingly bold and aggressive behavior.

Mark HeinzJuly 25, 2023

Search Suspended For Grizzly That Killed Woman Near Yellowstone; Bear Probably Left

Wildlife agents have suspended the search for a grizzly bear, thought to be a female with a cub, that is believed to have killed a woman early Saturday near West Yellowstone.