Skin of panther spotted, killed for food (6)

I believe the answer is:

preyed

'killed for food' is the definition.
(killed as prey)

'skin of panther spotted' is the wordplay.
'skin of' says to hollow out the word (remove centre letters).
'spotted' becomes 'eyed' (eye can mean to spot or look at).
'panther' with its middle removed is 'pr'.
'pr'+'eyed'='PREYED'

(Another definition for preyed that I've seen is " Hunted other animals for food".)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app