A Wyoming Game and Fish employee who pleaded guilty to mistakenly shooting a grizzly bear last fall has been ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution.
The Cody Enterprise reported Thursday that Circuit Judge Bruce Waters also ordered Luke Ellsbury to pay $260 in fines and costs for shooting the bear about 10 miles east of Yellowstone National Park on Sept. 6, 2013.
Ellsbury, a large carnivore biologist and former bear management specialist, told investigators he had spotted a large black bear while working in the area. After work he bought a bear license, picked up a friend and returned.
Ellsbury told investigators he spent about 10 minutes watching the bear and believed it was a black bear.