We'd been hiking for most of the morning when we spotted the beast.

The two game wardens I was with, James Kennedy and Travis Gray, saw it first.

They crouched among the spruce trees just ahead of me.

I could tell by their body language that they'd seen something.

So I moved up slowly and looked over their shoulders, down the length of a shallow gully.

See it?

James Kennedy whispered.

Travis Gray was looking through his binoculars.

I shook my head.

Kennedy pointed, and I crouched behind him so I could see where he was pointing.

After a moment, I saw the black fur amid an array of pine trees.

It was a good 150 yards away, and since the trees blocked most of it from view, I couldn't

see how big it was.

Two days earlier, my editor sent me out to cover a story about a black bear stumbling upon a local beekeeping business.

The bear must have been hungry because the couple that owned the business estimated it did about $30,000 worth of damage to the hives.

When I reached out to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, they told me that the bear was tagged and had been wreaking havoc in the next county over.

Even though it was well outside of the short Wyoming black bear hunting season,

Game and Fish decided they were going to kill the bear.

And, after a little convincing, they agreed to let me tag along for the story.

For a reporter in rural Wyoming, this was about as exciting as things got.

It's on the move, Gray said.

I followed as the two men tracked around, moving quietly to stay with the bear until they

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