Montana Man Nailed for Poaching Trophy Whitetail Buck 🦌

As we continue to slowly but surely inch back towards the weekend, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and get into what this beautiful Tuesday has to offer.

Here's what's worth reading about so far this week:

DUDE COULDN’T WAIT
MONTANA MAN GETS $3K IN FINES, LICENSE SUSPENSION FOR POACHING TROPHY BUCK

Thanks to one vigilant citizen who refused to look the other way, a young Pondera County hunter who thought he could get away with poaching a standout trophy whitetail has learned there are consequences to blurring the lines around season start dates.

The case centers on an impressive 182-inch Boone & Crockett white-tailed buck that was killed back in September 2025. In Montana, a buck of this caliber is a rare prize — well above the typical minimums for entry into the state’s big game records and the kind of mature animal that 23-year-old Tony Zimbelman couldn’t resist…

⚪️ Extremely Rare All-White Pronghorn Spotted and Filmed in Eastern Wyoming. Wildlife enthusiasts in Goshen County got a special treat on Memorial Day when a couple out for their usual walk spotted a completely white pronghorn doe running with a buck and another doe. Matthew Pancake and his wife Maricela captured the brief encounter on video, calling it an incredible surprise since such all-white animals are extremely rare in the wild.

The doe appeared healthy and lively before dashing off. Experts say she’s likely not a true albino but carrying a recessive gene that causes the striking white coat. She’s believed to be an adult who has already survived at least one harsh Wyoming winter, but locals reportedly haven’t seen her since the long weekend.

👮 Two Ontario Trappers Fined $5,700 for Illegal Bear, Wolf and Lynx Violations. Two trappers from the Kaministiquia area in northwestern Ontario have been fined a total of $5,700 after conservation officers uncovered multiple serious violations of trapping regulations. The case began in June 2025 when officers received a tip about a deceased and badly decayed adult bear that had been caught by the neck in a snare and left to rot in the field.

The investigation traced the snare back to Christopher MacLean, who had originally set it for wolves but failed to remove it at the end of the 2024 trapping season. Officers also found another snare set by MacLean that had caught a wolf, which was subsequently abandoned, leaving the pelt behind. Additionally, they located a snare set by Douglas Stefak for lynx that remained active during the closed season.

MacLean pleaded guilty to unlawfully trapping the black bear and unlawfully abandoning the wolf pelt and was fined $4,500. Stefak, the licensed holder of the trapline area, pleaded guilty to unlawfully trapping lynx out of season and failing to ensure compliance by his helper, MacLean and was fined $1,200. In addition to the penalties, both men have been ordered to keep detailed logbooks of their trapping activities and attach metal tags to all traps or snares.

🐺 Jackson Wolf Hunting Meeting Draws Large Crowd Amid Low Population Concerns, Remains Peaceful. A large crowd packed a Wyoming Game and Fish Department meeting in Jackson last week to weigh in on proposed wolf hunting limits for the coming season. With visible police on hand due to the high turnout, the gathering still stayed calm and civil despite the contentious topic.

The discussion centered on mortality limits in the state's trophy game management area, as wolf numbers have dropped to their lowest point in two decades after an outbreak of canine distemper virus swept through the population.

“It was a civil meeting with good candor amongst people that have very different views,” wolf biologist Ken Mills said.

🐻 That moment the whole fam stops by, uninvited for dinner. Watch as this mom and her cubs try to make their way into a Connecticut home for a snack.

Population is getting out of control in those parts…

Oh, and one more thing…