by Kim Atienza
Na may mga halaman na matatawag nating carnivorous? O silang kumakain ng karne?
Rare to hear, but carnivorous plants are all over the world.
These are usually found in areas of which the soil has little nutrients. These plants are categorized as carnivorous because their source of food is only through consuming animals.
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Meat eating plants have their own mechanism of facilitating digestion of prey. Kaya nilang sagpangin ang mga animals na nasa kategoryang invertebrates o vertebrates.
The process of facilitating the digestion begins in attracting its prey. This can be in the form of a little distraction like bright leaves, extra-floral nectarine, etc.
These attractions serve as a trap that can lure an innocent creature to the plant.
It will then begin to digest it and absorb its nutrients.
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Some examples of carnivorous plants include Nepenthes attenboroughii.
Endemic to the Philippines, it grows in remote areas (usually inaccessible to humans).
A pitcher plant was named after British broadcaster and naturalist, David Attenborough. His co-discoverer, Stewart McPherson stated, “The plant is among the largest of all carnivorous plant species and produces spectacular traps”.
Such plant could ingest animals as big as rats.
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TRIVIA PA MORE (Various Sources): The Yanomani tribe lives in villages within the Amazon rainforest, near the border of Venezuela and Brazil. They are known for their tradition of endocannibalism: consuming the flesh of a member of one’s own tribe, usually after they’ve died.
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The Toraja people of Indonesia practice a singular ritual of exhuming the corpses of their fellow villagers. The corpse is draped in special garments and paraded around the village. Even the bodies of children and bodies that are decades old are exhumed.
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The Ainu people, indigenous to parts of Japan and Russia, have a custom of sacrificing bears. The sacrifice is religious in nature, as it is believed that bears are gods walking among humans, and the sacrifice of the bear is said to bless the soul of mankind.
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Send your questions on anything and everything to Kuya Kim through my Twitter account @kuyakim_atienza using #AlaminKayKuyaKim.
Atingtuklasinangmgabagay-bagayna di niyo pa alam. Walang ’di susuungin, lahataalamin.Ito posiKuya Kim, Matanglawin, only here in Tempo.
