🚧 Outdoors | Cowboy State Daily

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.

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.