After capturing its prey, a leopard will break its neck causing paralysis and asphyxiation, then carries the carcass to a nearby tree or caches it in leaves and soil.
Once a leopard captures a prey item, it immediately breaks the prey’s neck, causing paralysis. After breaking the neck, the leopard asphyxiates the prey and carries the carcass to a secluded feeding location, typically in a nearby tree.
Leopards may also cover prey carcasses in leaves and soil. Leopards are known to cache food and may continue hunting despite having multiple carcasses already cached.
• Image | © Cloudtail the Snow Leopard, Some Rights Reserved (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
• Sources | (African Wildlife Foundation, 2009; Hayward, Henschel, O’Brien, 2006; Hunt, 2011; Macaskill, 2009; Stander, Haden, & Kagece, 1997)
