This enables them to climb trees almost effortlessly. However, these claws are also a deadly weapon. The sharp hooked claws can tear through their prey's flesh easily, and helps the leopard catch and hold their prey down. Because the claws are curved so much, a lot of debris and bacteria are caught underneath of them, so a scratch from a leopard can cause a severe infection, and can be very deadly. Leopards keep their claws sharp by clawing the bark of trees, which helps to shed the outer layer of the nail.
Leopards are opportunistic hunters.
They will eat just about anything. Their diet consists of monkeys, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, birds, fish, wild pigs, and ungulates. It stalks its prey with deafening silence and at the last minute pounces on its prey and cuts its throat with a quick bite. It hunts during the day to avoid contact with lions and hyenas, who hunt mainly at night. When it kills animals such as gazelle, it carries them up into the trees to eat it.