Avoidance by caribou and increased wolf predation risk in disturbed areas indicate functional habitat loss for caribou, yet these patterns alone do not necessarily imply a demographic impact. Spatial analysis of factors influencing adult female survival indicated that caribou resource selection was broadly correlated with survival, but also that wolf predation risk was an additional mortality risk beyond that perceived by caribou. This failure of caribou to non-ideally avoid predation risk may explain multi-year declines for populations in west-central Alberta. Ultimately, if caribou conservation is to succeed, management must reverse the ultimate causes shifting the balance of apparent competition at both broad and fine scales across woodland caribou range.