From the news of the wild comes this story from the Philippines about a pitcher plant (similar to the infamous Venus Fly Trap) that actually devours small rodents–and any other living thing unfortunate enough to fall into its chlorophyll maw. We’re used to plants giving us the occasional itchy rash or embedding their thorns into our skin but eating us?! Yikes!
Luckily, as long as you aren’t a small rodent in the Philippines there’s not much to worry about. There’s the old joke “I’m not a vegetarian because I love animals, it’s because I hate plants.” Better hope that this humble pitcher plant doesn’t have a big brother with an equally voracious appetite! You can read more about it here at LiveScience.