The average consumption and kill rate of deer by wolves has not yet been determined, but we have some information bearing on the subject. Because our data were obtained during a winter of unusually deep snow, and it was obvious that wolves were killing more deer than they could eat at the moment (see Mech _et al._, page 51), our figures should be considered much higher than average. However, they should be useful in that they probably represent the maximum kill rate not only throughout the year but also throughout a period of many years.
By observing each of our radiotagged wolves whenever possible and noting whether or not it was feeding on a kill, we learned that our wolves generally remained close to their kills for periods of from 1 to 7 days, depending on how recently they had eaten (fig. 32). Thus, when a wolf was found at a new location each day, the assumption could be made that the animal did not currently have a kill.
[Illustration: _Figure 32.--Periods spent by radiotagged wolves and their associates feeding on kills judged to be their own. This does not include periods when they were known to be feeding on carrion._]
We assumed that wolves found at fresh kills (fig. 33) had made them unless there was evidence to the contrary as with 1053, the scavenger. When a wolf was found at one location for several consecutive days but could not be observed, we assumed it was feeding on a kill, since whenever wolves were observed remaining in the same location for several days they were seen feeding. Thus a range of possible number of kills per wolf was determined, with the lower limit being the known minimum and the upper limit the possible maximum. When more than one wolf fed on a kill, as with the pack, the figures were calculated on a per-wolf basis.
[Illustration: _Figure 33.--Radiotagged wolf (upper left) found at kill (lower right). (Photo courtesy of L. D. Frenzel.)_]
In this way we obtained data on a total of 468 wolf-days and found a total kill of 35 to 48 deer (table 7). This averages out to a kill rate of one deer per 10 to 14 days per wolf. The figure varied considerably among individuals--1051 had the highest rate of one kill per 6.3 to 7.2 days, and each wolf in 1059's pack had the lowest rate (except for 1053, the scavenger) of one deer per 14.0 to 18.0 days.