PINEDALE - A pair of dead moose found by state game wardens in Sublette County over the weekend are the latest victims of poachers preying on trophy game in western Wyoming.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is investigating the shooting of two moose that wardens found dead Sunday in the Pinedale area, officials said.

The two moose, a cow and a yearling bull, were both shot illegally near the department's Scab Creek elk feedground, which is located approximately 10 miles northeast of the tiny community of Boulder.

The carcasses were discovered by Pinedale Game Warden Brian Nesvik during routine patrols of the area. Officials said the moose meat was not salvageable.

Nesvik said the two animals were shot from the Scab Creek Road with a high-powered rifle, presumably around Oct. 22-23.

The animals were discovered in moose Hunt Area 4, which along with other parts of the region has experienced "depressed moose populations" in recent years, according to Nesvik.

"The moose population sure has been struggling down in this part of the world, and it's just disgusting to go up and look at two critters just shot and left like that," Nesvik said. "It makes the effects of this type of illegal shooting even more significant.

"Not only is it disrespectful to the animals, it takes away the opportunity for others to hunt, photograph or just enjoy seeing them."

The moose shootings come on the heels of another ugly poaching incident in western Wyoming that was discovered by a pair of concerned hunters over the weekend.

Game and Fish Regional Wildlife Supervisor Kent Schmidlin said two yearling grizzly bears, one male and one female, were shot sometime around Oct. 18-19. The bears were found on Warm Springs Mountain near the Union Pass Road on Sunday.

Nesvik said wardens believe both moose were shot at the same time.

"I believe it was one incident," he said.

"The moose were probably only about 50 yards apart … and only about 60 or 70 yards off the road," said Nesvik. "And we believe it was two people."

The warden said there's been a lot of elk hunter activity around Scab Creek feedground of late. He said the elk have been up in the feedground area in the last couple of weeks quite a bit.

"This could have been an elk hunter and a mistaken identity kind of thing, but it makes us pretty suspicious when there's two of them so close together like that right off the road," he said. "When they're that close, it's pretty hard to mistakenly ID them … especially through a (rifle) scope."

Nesvik said the agency is offering a reward of up to $10,000 - $5,000 for each moose - for information leading to the conviction of whoever shot the animals.

"Moose are such cool critters and Wyoming sportsmen apply for years before they get an opportunity to actually go hunt one and do it legally," he said. "And then you have this kind of crap happen and it's pretty disheartening."

Contact southwest Wyoming bureau reporter Jeff Gearino at (307) 875-5359 or gearino@tribcsp.com

Last we knew: A pair of concerned hunters found two, dead yearling grizzly bear cubs Sunday near Dubois, the apparent victims of poachers.

The latest: Two moose were discovered this weekend by game wardens around Pinedale after being shot and killed by poachers.

What's next: The agency is offering a $10,000 reward in both incidents for information leading to an arrest and conviction of those responsible. Tips can be called in to the agency's stop poaching hotline at 877-943-3847.]]->