LogFAQs > #975143017

Vets do put cones on animals to stop them from opening any wound, but generally speaking if it's a minor wound they'll only do so if the animal in question isn't leaving it alone (or caused it in the first place, which usually means there's some other sort of irritation prompting them to over-groom it). In those cases, the problem isn't that they're licking at all, it's that they're licking it more than they should (for whatever reason). Cones are generally only used as a proactive measure for surgical or other major wounds, which are cases where the innate instinct to lick wounds is going to do more harm than good.

As for how this relates to wild animals, they generally aren't going to be licking minor wounds too much, so they don't interfere with them healing. If they do have a minor wound that they over-groom to the point of keeping it open, there is indeed a good chance that they'll just end up dying due to it becoming infected, or else just being permanently injured. If they have a wound that's major enough that a vet would pre-emptively put a cone on to protect it, they probably will end up dying if left untreated.