Can Cougars Push Deer and Elk Out of an Area?

[2013cossj]

I've been hunting the same ridge for quite a while, and this season has been completely different.
I'm wondering if one cougar or even a pair could be enough to push the deer and elk out of the area. In previous seasons, it was common to see anywhere from 5 to 15 deer in a day. This year, I've only seen about five deer total all season, and still no elk.

The weather hasn't been ideal, but even taking that into account, the ridge feels unusually empty. Has anyone else experienced something similar, or have any thoughts on what might be causing such a drastic change?

 

[Bruce Mc]

I have hunted New Mexico, Lincoln National Forest, for many years. We would always go visit a shop in Cloudcroft because the lady that ran the store was also the wife of the man that ranched the part of the forest we hunted. She was usually a very good source of information. One year she told us to not bother with several adjacent canyons as the deer had been run out by a female lion with two cubs. The cowboys working the section saw the cats and noted the lack of deer. She also mentioned the 3s rule.