Nepenthes Attenboroughii Digesting Shrew on Mount Victoria, Palawan, Philippines
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I'm on the summit approach of Mount Victoria, central Palawan,
in the Philippines, where in 2007, we discovered one of the largest of all pitcher
plants, Nepenthes attenboroughii.
We have a wonderful specimen here which, as you can see, has very large, carnivorous pitchers,
and on our return expedition last month, we made a startling discovery, which is the presence
of a shrew skeleton trapped inside one of the pitchers.
Now, we were here approximately one month ago, and the shrew was intact, recently killed,
and now, all that is left is bones, and some of the fur, which just goes to show how quickly
digestion is taking place within the pitchers of this marvelous species.
Now one must bear in mind that captures such as this are actually not the intended prey of such
plants, but usually the result of misadventure. The pitchers being full of insects and liquid
often present a viable source of nutrition and hydration in the summit area, which is
relatively dry, especially at this point of the year, which is the dry season, wherein
water, or at least running water, is scarce.
So here you can see the skeleton - the skeletal remains of the shrew - that we discovered
in the pitcher of Nepenthes attenboroughii.
Inside the pitcher you can see what remains of the fur, which is made of keratin, a relatively
indigestible protein, though in time it, too, will disappear.
