![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Big-betty-2-12.21.25.jpeg\")
A cow moose that locals call \u201cBig Betty\u201d has been handing around Evanston. So far, she\u2019s behaved herself, and wildlife agents haven\u2019t been dispatched to catch her. (Courtesy Patty Ann Cote)Critter Encounters<\/p>\nWild animals are a relatively common sight in Wyoming communities, but Evanston residents are appreciative\u00a0of\u00a0how well-behaved a cow moose they call “Big Betty” has been while wandering around the town.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s very calm. It\u2019s kind of odd. She\u2019s just so mellow and peaceful,\u201d Evanston resident Patty Ann Cote told Cowboy State Daily.<\/p>\n
The Bear River\u00a0corridor near\u00a0Evanston, as well as the nearby Bear River State Park, are good moose habitat.<\/p>\n
So it\u2019s not unheard of for moose to venture into town from time to time, Wyoming Game and Fish Green River regional wildlife supervisor James Hobbs told Cowboy State Daily.<\/p>\n
Game and Fish and local authorities got a few calls about Big Betty when she first showed up, but apparently nothing that required a response.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s thought she meandered back out of town sometime late last week, although she might still be hanging around nearby.<\/p>\n
A cow moose that locals call \u201cBig Betty\u201d has been handing around Evanston. So far, she\u2019s behaved herself, and wildlife agents haven\u2019t been dispatched to catch her. (Courtesy Patty Ann Cote)Critter Encounters<\/p>\n
During the past month or so, photos and updates about Big Betty kept popping up on social media.<\/p>\n
She was popular, and people didn\u2019t seem to have anything bad to say about her, Cote said.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s just been making her way all over town, she does not even care that there are houses, cars driving and people walking. She doesn\u2019t care. This is her town and nobody else\u2019s,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Cote was among several people who caught photos of Big Betty strolling along streets, passing homes and businesses, or hanging out in yards.<\/p>\n
While Big Betty\u2019s Evanston visit went without a hitch, in other instances, moose and urban residents haven\u2019t been so tolerant of each other.<\/p>\n
In 2023, when a young bull moose showed up in the\u00a0middle of Laramie, Game and Fish decided not to take any chances.<\/p>\n
They\u00a0tranquilized the moose<\/a>\u00a0on the Slade Elementary School grounds. The moose was taken into the Snowy Range Mountains and set free again. \u00a0<\/p>\n And when mountain lions show up in towns, there\u2019s no hesitation.<\/p>\n Recently, mountain lions have returned to the wild after being captured in\u00a0Thermopolis<\/a>, Laramie and Cheyenne.<\/p>\n As much as people in Wyoming love seeing wildlife, Game and Fish admonishes urban residents to not feed wild animals or otherwise entice them to\u00a0hang\u00a0around, Hobbs said.<\/p>\n When animals get too acclimated to people, they can become aggressive, he said.<\/p>\n And prey animals, such as deer or moose, can draw predators into towns, he added.<\/p>\n Feeding animals, particularly during the tough winter months, can seem like an act of kindness. In reality, the \u201cdietary adjustment\u201d from natural to artificial food sources isn\u2019t good for animals, Hobbs said.<\/p>\n During the severe winter of 2022-2023, some people were so moved by the plight of deer, they tried feeding the deer hay.<\/p>\n However, game biologists explained to Cowboy State Daily that because the deer couldn\u2019t properly digest the hay,\u00a0it was killing them<\/a>.<\/p>\n Moose Don\u2019t Want To Be Friends<\/p>\n While Big Betty apparently had no conflicts with people, it\u2019s best to keep away from moose, Hobbs said.<\/p>\n Visitors to Bear River State Park are warned to keep their distance, particularly from cow moose with calves.<\/p>\n Momma moose can be extremely protective, and are nothing to trifle with, Wyoming wildlife photographer Jorn Vangoidtsenhoven previously told Cowboy State Daily. He said he was once chased up a tree by an irate cow moose.<\/p>\n In 2024,\u00a0a\u00a0man who pushed too close trying to get photos of moose calves was\u00a0charged and killed<\/a>\u00a0by the calves\u2019 mother.<\/p>\n Contact Mark Heinz at mark@cowboystatedaily.com<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Big-betty-1-12.21.25.jpeg\")
A cow moose that locals call \u201cBig Betty\u201d has been handing around Evanston. So far, she\u2019s behaved herself, and wildlife agents haven\u2019t been dispatched to catch her. (Courtesy Patty Ann Cote)Good Human Behavior<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Big-Betty-inset-town-12.21.25.jpg\")
A cow moose that locals call \u201cBig Betty\u201d has been handing around Evanston. So far, she\u2019s behaved herself, and wildlife agents haven\u2019t been dispatched to catch her. (Courtesy Patty Ann Cote)<\/p>\n