Wild beasts are animals encountered in wilderness and forest settings. Nephi “did slay wild beasts” and “did obtain food for our families,” returning to the tents bearing the beasts he had slain (1 Nephi 16:31-32). In the land of promise, Nephi’s company found forest beasts, including “all manner of wild animals, which were for the use of men” (1 Nephi 18:25).
The wilderness called Hermounts was “infested by wild and ravenous beasts,” and many who died there of wounds “were devoured by those beasts and also the vultures of the air” (Alma 2:37-38). In lands deserted by the Nephites, “there were no wild beasts nor game,” and “there was no game for the robbers save it were in the wilderness” (3 Nephi 4:2).