Wolves mainly prey on the old and others weaken by disease since they are easier to bring down, would you want to eat a old, diseased elk?
Just remember that the big herd bulls which are breeding the cows and have been defending there harem, fending off other bulls, keeping there cows in check, have lost a considerable amount of body fat over there rut season, are now one of the weak elk. These big herd bulls which are passing on there gene pool for healthy offspring, are now prime candidates for wolf bait....by the way, we have to have the wolves for the health of the herd---Right??