depredates
Lays waste to
Depredates means to plunder, pillage, or lay waste—typically describing the actions of invaders, raiders, or predators.
The word appears most often in formal or historical contexts: Viking fleets depredated the coastline for decades.
Wildlife may also depredate: Wolves that depredate livestock are often killed by ranchers.
pillage
Violent theft of goods
ravage · spoils · booty · maraud · sack · raid · strip · devastate · lay waste · spoliation
hunt
Pursuit of quarry
stalk · ambush · food chain · ecosystem · carrion · pounce · capture · kill · territory · survival
constructive vs destructive action
depredatesbuilds up
Accumulates gradually
replenishes · constructs · creates · cultivates · nurtures
depredation, depredations, depredate, depredator, depredatory, depredated