"No part of the natural world should be a threat." I think that statement is in direct opposition to the base philosophy of the game. Vintage story, in my experience, is the human story. It has given me a greater appreciation for our ancestors, and a deeper daily gratitude for how good things are.
Keep the wolves and the bears aggressive. Plan better. Pay more attention. Make more satiating food (e.g. pies, meat stew). The design is to reinforce the importance of homesteading. If the threat is minimised in the external world, the feeling of home and earned safety is lost.
If you saw a wolf or a bear in the real world, what would you do? Probably the same thing as you do in game. Stay the **** away. In fact, I would and do entirely avoid forested areas where known predators are around in the game and IRL. The idea that forests are leisurely entertainment spots and that nature isn't threatening, is a modern convenience.
Re. hunting: Humans were predominately endurance hunters. Our ancestors survived by chasing animals to exhaustion. Sounds tedious. That's why agriculture was such a big W for civilisation. Same thing here. Hunting is minimally scalable. Lure them in, trap them, breed them. Endless meat after a few generations.
With those things in mind, the design choices make sense to me. It should be hard, it should be tedious. That's the beauty of the game in my view.
