On the morning of May 30, 2022 Joel Proffit took his son, Fisher, black bear hunting. It was not their first time out, but it would be a “first” for both as they faced extreme judicial consequences in the days to follow.

A case of clear mistaken identity proven by clear video evidence, Joel advised his son to pull the trigger on a bear that gave every indication of being a bear for which they had a tag. Upon walking up to the bear, emotions changed from joy and excitement over a milestone father/son memory to tears and discouragement over what would happen in the days to come!

Joel is seasoned in Wyoming game. In a normal year, he will spend over 100 days in the outdoors – hiking, scouting, glassing, hunting, and viewing wildlife. Joel has taught Hunter Education courses to those seeking to satisfy Wyoming’s requirements for hunters. He knows the distinguishing characteristics between black and grizzly bears, but on this day everything he knew was against him.

• The rain made the bear’s hide darker in color
• The bear’s size was unusually small
• There was no apparent shoulder hump
• The bear’s facial profile did not appear dished
• The ears were large, not small

Joel’s video, in part or in whole, has been viewed over 12,000 times on social media with every viewer understanding the bear to be a black bear. Not one person has been able to tell that the bear Fisher harvested was a grizzly.