In the first 10 years of constant observation of the population from the Matobo Hills, only two kills were witnessed. However, enough hunting behavior has been ultimately observed to give a good idea how a Verreaux's eagle obtains its prey. This species most often forages in low-level quartering flight, with the rock hyraxes chiefly caught after a rapid, somewhat twisting dive in the few seconds after the eagle surprises the hyrax. Like the golden eagle, Verreaux's eagle uses natural contours of the ground in rocky and mountainous habitats to increase the element of surprise, as hyraxes (appropriately considering their diverse range of predators) tend to be highly wary. Verreaux's eagle have been known to hunt from a perch, though rarely. Hunting hyrax cooperatively has been recorded, with one eagle of a pair flying past and distracting the prey while the other strikes from behind. Verreaux's eagle may knock hyraxes off cliffs and take arboreal prey from treetops, but it usually kills on the ground. The daily estimate food requirements of this species are around , nearly a third more than that of a golden eagle despite the latter's marginally heavier body weight. Rock hyraxes are often difficult to observe for humans, other than a glimpse, but a Verreaux's eagle can fly out and then return to the nest with a kill in the matter of a few minutes.