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  • Nature has many lethal predators

  • who would love to eat you.

  • Most of these are animals.

  • But what about plants?

  • Well, there's one plant

  • that thrives in boggy areas

  • and has a taste for insects,

  • What would happen,

  • if a giant one trapped you?

  • In some of our other videos,

  • we've looked at what would happen

  • if you were swallowed by a whale,

  • or even an anaconda!

  • Well, how about a carnivorous plant?

  • Venus flytraps mainly

  • get their energy from the soil.

  • But to stay healthy,

  • they need to eat a few insects per month

  • during the growing season.

  • Ok, so you're not an insect,

  • but a giant flytrap

  • might not be able to tell the difference.

  • So how exactly would it eat you?

  • The Venus flytrap has three stiff

  • that are like sensitive hairs

  • on each of its inner leaves.

  • When they get touched,

  • the plant gets interested.

  • But it won't snap shut immediately.

  • If a little piece of dirt

  • or leaf lands on it,

  • the plant will ignore it and stay open.

  • But when something

  • or someone

  • bends these hairs more than three times,

  • like a fly,

  • or a terrified human,

  • it's mouth snaps shut,

  • trapping its prey.

  • This trapping motion is called

  • and it's very nasty indeed!

  • In this scenario,

  • you'd probably want to play dead

  • for about 12 hours.

  • If you're lucky, and very still,

  • the trap might open.

  • But what if you weren't so lucky?

  • Once you're in its grasp,

  • the Venus flytrap will stay shut

  • to keep bacteria out of its leaves.

  • It squeezes tightly around you,

  • while secreting an antiseptic juice

  • to stop you from turning rotten.

  • You'd essentially be pickled!

  • Mmm... Yummy.

  • Once inside, you would be compeletely sealed,

  • like some sort of biological coffin.

  • With little oxygen,

  • you'd probably pass out pretty soon.

  • If you try to escape,

  • any movement will provoke the plant

  • to start producing enzymes

  • and highly acidic digestive fluid.

  • These enzymes will absorb

  • any sodium you might have in your body,

  • helping the Venus flytrap transport nutrients.

  • Plants generally don't like sodium,

  • but the flytrap needs it to survive.

  • Humans are also rich

  • in phosphorus

  • and nitrogen,

  • which are vital to the plant's survival,

  • and lacking in its natural environment.

  • After about 5-12 days of digesting you,

  • the plant would be back open for business!

  • Whatever is left of you

  • would likely be washed out by the rain

  • or blown away by the wind.

  • So what makes the Venus flytrap

  • so appealing to its prey?

  • The plant produces a sweet nectar

  • that is irresistable to bugs,

  • making it a perfect natural insecticide

  • for gardeners that want to

  • avoid adding chemicals to their plants.

  • If there are a lot of mosquitoes where you live,

  • it might be a good idea

  • to plant a bunch of these around your home!

  • Some companies have tried selling

  • the flytrap's extract

  • as a homeopathic supplement,

  • claiming to fight all kinds of ailments.

  • But these claims have been mostly debunked.

  • So, don't get trapped into thinking

  • it will solve your medical problems!

  • The real question is,

  • could scientists actually grow one

  • big enough to eat a human?

  • Well, they'd have to manipulate the plant's DNA.

  • It would take a 120-foot long flytrap

  • to catch a six-foot human,

  • which probably isn't going

  • to happen any time soon.

  • Flytraps have been known to

  • die from severe indigestion

  • when fed ground beef.

  • So chances are, they wouldn't

  • find you very tasty either.

  • Frankly, I'd be more concerned

  • about falling into a pool of piranhas.

Nature has many lethal predators

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