A more likely scenario is that mortality will be compensatory rather than additive and the region would experience an equivalent reduction in winter mortality. In simple terms, wolves would kill the animals that are most likely to die anyway instead of killing an additional amount over the normal winter die off. In addition, wolves and other predators often have indirect effects on prey population dynamics. In Washington state's Olympic National Park, elk reproduction appears to be dampened because herds are dominated by older females who typically have fewer twins. To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.
Some people mistakenly believe that all predators serve the same function.
But while coyotes and wolves appear to be very similar, their roles and impacts on ecosystems are very different. Wolves are coursing predators, which means that they tend to chase their prey until they find an animal that is weak. Wolves are also pack hunters who hunt cooperatively and whose populations respond very quickly to increases or decreases in prey availability. As a consequence of their different behaviors, they have different impacts on their prey. Likewise, other predators hunt differently and take different animals at different times and under different circumstances.