It's said, sometimes it takes a wrong turn
to get you to the right place.
But landing up in this nightmarish neighborhood
is purely a stroke of bad luck, for these Venus
fly traps are hungry for flesh.
With just a touch to one, and then two,
of the microscopic hair triggers,
the plant's jaws trap the prey, setting in motion
a bizarre, all-in-one digestive system.
The sealed pod floods with a lethal brew
of digestive juices.
Its mouth becomes its stomach, and finally its intestines,
as it absorbs the nutrients.
But this isn't the most efficient system,
for a missed meal means energy wasted.
High up above the fly traps, fellow carnivores,
the Pitcher plants, are a little more proficient.
They're passive hunters, firmly rooted in one spot.
These plants make no attempt to hide in ambush.
Once on the lip, the insect is as good as dead.
Downward-facing hairs prevent a good foothold.
The toxic nectar drugs them.
Deep, waxy walls make it too slippery to crawl out.
Others are also fighting for their lives.
All the while, without their knowing,
they're already part of the digestive process.
Their remains will soon become part of the existing graveyard.
The greatest guzzlers belong to the tropical Pitcher family.
Sporting deep, tubular pits filled
with flesh-dissolving enzymes, it's
like an open-ended stomach.
Any animal small enough to fit through the mouth of the death
pit is fair game.
[MOUSE SNIFFING] Victims die by drowning while their flesh
slowly dissolves.