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Wedge-tailed eagles around Leinster eat both live prey and carrion.

They will hunt in the open for a variety of prey including young kangaroos, cockatoos, lizards, crows, rabbits and wallabies. In wooded country they will pursue prey through trees with amazing agility, forcing the victim into open land where the clutching power of the deadly talons and the force of the strike is often enough to kill their quarry.

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Wedge-tailed Eagles may hunt alone, in pairs or in larger groups. Working together, a group of eagles can attack and kill animals as large as adult kangaroos. When threatened on the ground by a dingo the eagle will roll onto its back, feet in the air and use its sharp talons to protect itself.

Carrion is a major food source with road-kill and other carcasses readily available. Up to 10 birds may be seen around a carcass although only one or two feed at a time. Feeding on road-kill puts the birds at risk of becoming casualties themselves which is a common occurance.

Bounties for dead eagles were paid in Western Australia up until 1968 and in Queensland until 1974. Over a 50 year period (1923 to 1974) it is estimated that more than one million Wedge-tailed Eagles have been killed under the bounty system, Australia wide.