Let me say upfront that any of this may be right, wrong, or a little of both….I’m not claiming it’s a sure thing just some thoughts and theories……

I think a lot of this behavior has been something that they’ve learned over time and things have been constantly changing as far as their impact is concerned…..A lot of trackers train their new pups by letting them run in behind their experienced dogs…..Dogs learn way faster from other dogs than they do from humans….they pick up on a lot…..I imagine its likely the same with yotes….They adapt and learn different behaviors over time that helps them survive and then that behavior gets taught to the pups and other dogs….Survival of the fittest is probably helping to bring about the change at the same time as the ones who learn these “new skills” first are able to outcompete the others. …..I think bringing down the weak and wounded deer by pushing them around until they wear down is probably something that has been gradually becoming more and more prevalent over the last decade and may still be in the process of changing or evolving throughout the larger population. I would guess that it would be most prevalent in home range yotes that run in packs…..They’re passing the skill down to younger dogs. I’m gonna guess that its not something they’re born instinctively knowing how to do. I do think there are some things we can do to off set some of their impacts though and in the future it may be something that sets your property apart from others and makes it a hot spot. Figuring out how to shut down these main travel routes would be one big one…..and the other would be trapping enough to not let them form long lasting packs that call your place home. I imagine they put a lot of stress on the deer herd and may have a dramatic impact on deer behavior. I bet the longer a pack stays together using this technique of targeting the weak and wounded….the more efficient and refined they become. You surely wouldn’t want multiple generations staying on your place honing it on in……New dogs will always migrate in but I bet young dogs running by themselves would not have nearly the same impact as older dogs running in packs.