# Plant that eats rats..... seriously **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 11, 2009, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-that-eats-rats-seriously/506057 "2009-08-11T14:00:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-that-eats-rats-seriously/506057/1 "2009-08-11T14:00:47Z")
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth\_news/newsid\_8195000/8195029.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8195000/8195029.stm) New species of pitcher plant discovered which > [@](#): > > is so big that it can catch rats and well as insects in its leafy trap Get Attenborough up there immediately! I need to see footage of this baby eating a rat! ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-that-eats-rats-seriously/506057/2 "2009-08-11T14:03:21Z")
They should have named it Audrey. 😉 Spooky! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-that-eats-rats-seriously/506057/3 "2009-08-11T14:08:03Z")
I need to forward this to the guys who do the landscaping behind this building. Although I once saw a hawk trying to do a giant pitcher plant imitation. Rat 1, Hawk 0. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-that-eats-rats-seriously/506057/4 "2009-08-11T15:02:01Z")
> [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](#): > > . . . > > Get Attenborough up there immediately! I need to see footage of this baby eating a rat! Aw. They named it after him. > [@](#): > > The newly discovered giant pitcher (Nepenthes attenboroughii) ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-that-eats-rats-seriously/506057/5 "2009-08-11T17:19:38Z")
\ [FFEEEEEEEEEDDDDDD MMMMMEEEEEE](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnJxvb8pWDE)! \ ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-that-eats-rats-seriously/506057/6 "2009-08-11T17:42:49Z")
Ah, carnivorous plants. The men’s nipples of the taxonomic world. The biathlon of nature. The Spalding Gray. The particle-wave duality. The infield fly rule. The Ron Paul. ---
**Author:** ![supergoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@supergoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supergoose)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-that-eats-rats-seriously/506057/7 "2009-08-11T21:00:54Z")
I love carnivorous plants. Darwin did too, as I recall. There’s something about the combination of passive plant and carnivorous animal that’s really fascinating. And I hate to burst your bubble, but there are other large carnivorous plants known to take out rats/similarly sized mammals. If you’re like me, though, this news will kind of inflate your bubble rather than burst it. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-that-eats-rats-seriously/506057/8 "2009-08-11T21:03:50Z")
> [@supergoose](#): > > I love carnivorous plants. Darwin did too, as I recall. There’s something about the combination of passive plant and carnivorous animal that’s really fascinating. > > And I hate to burst your bubble, but there are other large carnivorous plants known to take out rats/similarly sized mammals. If you’re like me, though, this news will kind of inflate your bubble rather than burst it. There are? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-that-eats-rats-seriously/506057/9 "2009-08-11T21:07:17Z")
When they develop legs, I’ll start worrying. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky_the_Wonder_Spirit)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-that-eats-rats-seriously/506057/10 "2009-08-11T21:13:47Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > When they develop legs, I’ll start worrying. I, for one, would LOVE a pet triffid. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-that-eats-rats-seriously/506057/11 "2009-08-11T21:59:51Z")
> [@Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](#): > > I, for one, would LOVE a pet triffid. Well, I hope you keep it on a leash! ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-that-eats-rats-seriously/506057/12 "2009-08-11T22:06:59Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > They should have named it Audrey. 😉 > > Spooky! That would be Audrey II. Audrey was the girlfriend. ---
**Author:** ![Umbriel2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/4af34b/32.png) [@Umbriel2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Umbriel2)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-that-eats-rats-seriously/506057/13 "2009-08-12T16:52:22Z")
> [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](#): > > [http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth\_news/newsid\_8195000/8195029.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8195000/8195029.stm) > > New species of pitcher plant discovered which > > Get Attenborough up there immediately! I need to see footage of this baby eating a rat! It wouldn’t be all that impressive a sight – kind of like watching an enclosed glue trap work. [Pitcher plants](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitcher_plant) simply grow a container of sorts that holds water, and which is hard for animals to crawl out of. They crawl in, drown, decay, and the decay products are absorbed by the plant. More energetic carnivorous plants like the [Venus Fly Trap](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_Flytrap) or the [Sundew](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drosera) generally don’t grow large enough to tackle more than insects. For better or worse… ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-that-eats-rats-seriously/506057/14 "2009-08-12T16:54:25Z")
> [@](#): > > That would be Audrey II. Audrey was the girlfriend. Or **Audrey, Jr.** if we went by the original movie.