Might explain the difference in #'s, cat kills vs wolf and why the perplexing contrast.
As i said, the fresh wolf scat had deer hair in it.
But, there is no snow, and pretty open country (which a study say benefits ungulates, although i think its the reverse come
a heavy snowfall winter).
My cam showed basically no snow all winter thru spring and that past few were the same.
Not a benefit to wolves, imo to be successful in killing.
So, maybe some packs of wolves are just thieves but do force cats to do all the killing.
That might align/ make more sense, with the study #'s??????
Why not, Killer whale pods vary from pod to pod, as to what they eat, some salmon, the next seal and even some shark liver.
And some probably have adapted different ways to huntthe same prey.
Some wolf packs kill directly, and maybe some are just taking a kill over.
Might explain some of the wolf movement patterns i find in the snow.
They cut fresh deer tracks, but don't bother at all, no matter how many separate deer tracks they cross.
Its as if they move around the side of a mountain, to the downwind side, not appearing to look for scent on the ground,
but as if to see what scents are presenting themselves in the wind.
Maybe they are scouting for the scent of a fresh cat kill or hunter gut pile???