Rat-eating plant discovered in Philippines.

Plants feeding on rats? This gotta be some kind of mutated weirdo plant..
I've heard about the Venus FlyTrap that eats flies, but this one eats RATS !

Rat-eating plant discovered in Philippines
British scientists said they have discovered a plant in the Philippines that feeds by luring and consuming rats.

Botanists Stewart McPherson and Alastair Robinson said the plant, dubbed Nepenthes attenboroughii after legendary wildlife broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, consumes whole rats by luring them into its mouth and dissolving them with acid-like enzymes.

The plant produces spectacular traps which catch not only insects, but also rodents, McPherson told The Sun in an exclusive interview. It is remarkable that it remained undiscovered until the 21st century.

McPherson and Robinson said their team found the plant on Mount Victoria after hearing accounts of the shrub's eating habits from missionaries.

My team and I named it in honor of Sir David whose work has inspired generations toward a better understanding of the beauty and diversity of the natural world, McPherson said.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/90ea008132b5.jpg[/atsimg]

wow what a nasty yet smart peiece of work that plant is ;-P

That looks like a plant from a million years ago, pretty cool.

Wowzer!
How come the rats don't just eat their way through the plant walls and out to safety? Are the enzymes super-fast acting? Interesting find either way!

I actually saw this plant live in a botanic garden, it looks truly wonderful, even though its eating habits scare me and I wouldn't try to put my finger in there

Originally posted by LogJam
Wowzer
How come the rats don't just eat their way through the plant walls and out to safety? Are the enzymes super-fast acting? Interesting find either way!

It probably has some paralyzing enzyme that keeps th rat inside .. Heh I wonder what else can we still find on our own planet without even going underwater .

But hey now New York can fix their rat problem I wonder how long until somebody decides this is good business and people will have rat eating plants at homes ( I wonder if it can be converted to eating mouse or similar )

Maybe plant this arounD the city and they eat the rats..

I wonder what happens if you stick your hand in there?
You get paralized and fall in , and the plant get full..

[edit on 18/8/2009 by ChemBreather]

Haha... that would look funny

How big are these things anyway? Do you think there are man-eating plants out in the deepest jungles of the world?

And clairaudience, you said you saw one in a botanical garden... how recently were these plants discovered? Interesting that they are already on show.

maybe the poster who thought he sawe these in a botanic gardens is confused.


it does look identical to a pitcher plant... no telling how big it is from that picture tho.

or the size of a phillipines rat...

NOTHING NEW, first shown in 1995 in "The Private Life of Plants"

The Private Lives Of Plants
David Attenborough looks at the meat-eating the pitcher-plant. He tells of how the bodies of mice & even rats are found in the plants. Dated 1995.
www.youtube.com...
0:30 to 1:00

These plants are a member of the pitcher-plant family. (Nepenthaceae)
en.wikipedia.org...

The families Nepenthaceae and Sarraceniaceae are the best-known and largest groups of pitcher plants. The Nepenthaceae contains a single genus, Nepenthes, containing about 120 species and numerous hybrids and cultivars.

Nepenthes attenboroughii is just a pitcher-plant large enough to accomodate rats.
The rodents fall in & cannot turn around or it is too slippery to back out so they drown in water collected in the bowls of the plant & then can be digested slowly over time.

How flesh-eating pitcher plants trap insects.
www.youtube.com...

[edit on 18-8-2009 by acrux]

Freaky looking plant.....

Bit of reverse engineering and maybe we can develop plants that eat humans

Where can I get some of these suckers? I don't have a problem with rats, but living in the country, I have mice out the wazoo when the harvest starts or it starts to get cool!
A few of these suckers could stay fat and happy!

It probably works like a pitcher plant, the vase like part fills with water and when they fall in they drown..

reply to post by LogJam


I think that because the ting is full of water the rat just uses up all its strength trying to stay afloat. I think the walls of the plant are slimy to.

I've seen some pretty big rats in the Philippines. I was astonished at their size.

One in particular had been invading my home on a regular basis. Got rid of it once i discovered its route into the house.

To give you an idea of its size, its tail was roughly the length of your F1 to F12 keys on your keyboard.

You get black and brown rats in the Philippines. a right nasty mix of them too...

I wonder why they get to name it after Attenborough, an Englishman, when its the local monks or residents who took them to it in the first place?
I am sure the locals already had a name for it.

They should have just used that word and added the appropriate Latin suffix.

reply to post by wayno


i agree , its not even like hes a Dr.

I have never failed to be impressed, surprised, amazed and totally blown away by the complexity and diversity of life. Nature just seems to keep on not wanting to stay in those nice little categories that we try to force it into.

Wonderful!

Originally posted by metamagic
I have never failed to be impressed, surprised, amazed and totally blown away by the complexity and diversity of life. Nature just seems to keep on not wanting to stay in those nice little categories that we try to force it into.

Wonderful!

agreed.....

Maybe Nature will heal herself by evolving the plant to eat humans, rats are a pest and carry disease...lol so are humans!

Originally posted by kettlebellysmith
Where can I get some of these suckers? I don't have a problem with rats, but living in the country, I have mice out the wazoo when the harvest starts or it starts to get cool!
A few of these suckers could stay fat and happy!

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/e894113256f1.jpg[/atsimg]
◦Venus Fly Trap
◦Yellow Trumpet
◦Hooded Pitcher Plant
◦Purple Pitcher Plant
◦Pale Trumpet
◦Temperate Sundew Plants
◦Cobra Lillies
Think Geek



[edit on 18-8-2009 by VitalOverdose]