How to keep an animal alive in a trap?

[xxxwxl]

1,I captured a wolf by the trap,and I  wanted to keep it alive for improving my shield skill.But when I go for it the next day,it is dead.I never hit it.So,the animal in a trap will awalys be killed automaticly?I can't keep it alive?
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2,I hit fox by the mace,the carcass is always torn.What should I do to make it better?(I hit legs,then the neck)

[Ara D.]

I know of no ways to extend life but trapped animals live several days for me. You must have captured it several days before you checked. As to the fox improving hideworking is best for saving the hide but outside of that try a club or rock. The idea is your mace is a strong weapon and the fox has thin skin so you are damaging the hide. But yes blunt damage to the head is least likely to damage hides.

[PALU]

1. Trapped animals die after a while, and presumably death comes faster if they were injured by the trap. It ought to be possible to build a containing "wall"* around an animal and then release it from the trap, though. Such catches have been reported to just disappear eventually (just as creatures can spawn in places where they wouldn't actually be able to path to).

2. Damage to any body part except the head will affect the carcass "quality". Thus, aim for the head and use blunt damage (to limit the damage if you miss the head).  Large animals can take a fair bit of damage before the skin gets injured, while smaller ones can get a damaged skin by a single hit not on the head. I've noted that a shaft hit by a javelin usually doesn't damage the skin of birds, while a shaft hit by a spear often does, so the force of the impact probably affects the outcome as well.

*"wall": A fence for a large animal, and traps that can't target the type of animal for smaller ones in a trap line. Actual walls should work as well, but your prey will be dead by the time you're done if starting from scratch.

[Dungeon Smash]

Some traps also do less damage to the animal.  Pawboard traps, for example, pretty much only hold the fox in place.  Spiked pit traps do far more damage than basic pit traps, etc.

I always use kicks to the head to kill downed animals.  You can use 0 key to kick.  It's convenient because you don't have to drop your weapons, and you don't have to carry around an extra club.  The only downside is that it can take quite a while to kill large animals like elk or bear, which can be dangerous in the case of the bear.  Otherwise it kills small animals in 1-2 kicks, and never seems to damage the hide at all.