Yeah I see what you mean. But then it would be more like you try to one-shot the animal or it would flee kind of battle, which would not be that enjoyable for gameplay I think. I chose at the beginning to make the fleeing mechanic rely on the player, you can choose to flee and avoid battle with them (rabbits, faws and deers) as they are "non-agressive" and won't chase you, the wolf for example is one of the enemies that will not let you leave easily. At least not without a check with your speed and his own, and when you're too low in speed you cannot win.
The rabbit deals 1 damage when you are low level, and as you gain level and the damage it inflicts is 0 you'll get this message instead "tries to hurt you but cannot".
I also implemented basic RPG mechanics like the animals in the second area are a little stronger than the ones in the first. The wolf in the first area that you encounter in the night is weaker than the buck from the second because of RPG logic, which is not really realistic yea :')
But if you compare its stats with stats from the wolf of the same area, the wolf still has higher stats! I try to find the right amount of gameplay and a semblance of reality if it makes sense. I hope you still have fun with the battle system aside from that!