I know deer do not like the smell of the leaves and I have never seen them eating the fruit they may after it is ripe and on the ground, but raccoons like them. Before they are ripe they are like unripe Persimmons, they will draw your mouth like alum. When they are ripe they taste a little like a banana but mushy like a custard. I have a woods with paw paw trees about a half mile from my house. I am surprised how many people do not know what they are or never saw one. The farmer who owns the property they are on didn't know what they were or that he had some in his woods, I told him when I went to asked permission to hunt doves. The trees have very big leaves and the fruit is very hard to see until you learn how to look for them. A lot of times wild paw paws grow in small groves in the woods. It is the leaves that give the trees away. Look for the trees around June when the leaves are out all the way. In May they flower and have kinda maroon small flowers that stink. When they are ripe the skin will be a little yellow and brown instead of green. They do not last long after ripening and refrigeration ruins them. I look for the fruit in late summer, August and September around here. I am not crazy about the taste but some folks love them. You can buy them from orchard nurseries if you want to plant some for wildlife.