Jungle Leech

Jungle Leeches are a new type of exclusive to the Downpour DLC. They are able to withstand staying out of water for a longer period of time before drying up, and are able to drain food from their host. They generally reside in wet and overgrown regions similar to the environment of a jungle.

Appearance
Jungle Leeches are small, dark green, tubular creatures, of similar size and weight to a.

Abilities & Behavior
When their prey is nearby, often swimming in or standing near an occupied body of water, Jungle Leeches will hastily react and lunge towards them, attempting to latch on to the creature. When out of water, they can last without dislodging themselves back to the water for a very long period of time, even after their color darkens. This process of falling off can be sped up with a "pop" close by that can sends a powerful shock wave able to knock off the Jungle Leech from the creature's body. If happens to hibernate with a Jungle Leech latched onto them with food pips to spare, one stored food pip will be drained at the beginning of next cycle. Additionally, if a Jungle Leech is attached to Slugcat for long enough, often due to rehydrating the attached leech, it will drain a food pip passively. This may happen multiple times with the same Jungle Leech if it is attached for long enough.

Strategy
Like other leeches, using the leech immunity of a held is a reliable and convenient way to avoid them. However, there are additional alternatives, like using already dead creatures to distract the leeches and snails to stun them for a short period of time.