WHEATLAND — Wheatland beekeeper Pete Hermsen is still reeling from an attack that struck in the dead of night.

A neighbor informed Hermsen that their dogs began barking and howling loudly around 11 p.m. Sunday for seemingly no reason.

In the morning, Hermsen visited his bees to discover two of the four hives had been torn open and gutted of their precious honey.

“Our jaws dropped,” Hermsen told Cowboy State Daily. “It looked like somebody threw a grenade.”

With the help of a game warden from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Hermsen scoured the scene for clues, eventually recovering a light brown tuft of fur that indicates the culprit was likely a hungry bear.

These attacks, Hermsen said, are an unfortunate reality in an otherwise sweet business.

“You’re disappointed, you’re upse

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