Relationship between snow depth and gray wolf predation on white-tailed deer
Survival of 203 yearling and adult white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ) was monitored for 23,441 deer days from January through April 1975-85 in northeastern Minnesota. Gray wolf ( Canis lupus ) predation was the primary mortality cause, and from year to year during this period, the mean predation rate ranged from 0.00 to 0.29. The sum of weekly snow depths/month explained 51% of the variation in annual wolf predation rate, with the highest predation during the deepest snow.
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