I often wonder how much is opinion and how much is fact.
IMO even a small pack of wolves would starve to death targeting Whitetails. They would use more energy chasing one down than they would get from eating it.
I believe they would certainly flush up fawns and reek havoc in spring along with every other predator, but I think they would be a prey animal of opportunity not a target. Yarded up deer would be in big trouble during a severe winter as well.
However, the deer are gone. Again just my opinion, but I have found that deer have become very nomadic compared to years past. I find them in pockets with lots of sign and then gone completely in a few weeks. I spoke to several folks with lots of trail cameras and they share this theory. I am talking bush here not farmland.
Early last season I went to a spot that is generally good and couldn't find even a sign of deer. There was wolf tracks everywhere and some moose. Went back at the end of the season and the deer were back and plentiful.
Deer are very smart and much more adaptable than the other ungulates. They will find a way against very tough odds and flourish.
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