Although Nepenthes Attenboroughii would be a pretty badass name, it is actually the name of a recently-discovered plant in the Philippines.

Apparently not all heroes come in human form.

This plant lives by the tenets of unvegans everywhere, because it is no ordinary plant. In fact, it is a giant pitcher plant. When people think of plants that eat animals, Venus Flytraps or Little Shop of Horrors are typically the first things that come to mind. Well, Venus Flytraps are child’s play compared to Nepenthes Attenboroughii, which is capable of consuming entire rodents.

Steward McPherson, one of scientists who discovered the plant, said, “I found a [different] species in Borneo with pitchers half the size with dead mice in it.” With this knowledge, there is no doubt that Nepenthes Attenboroughii has eaten its fair share of meat.

For bridging the gap of heroes and eating animals even though most plants don’t know how to, Nepenthes Attenboroughii, you are a true Unvegan Hero!

(via Times Online)

It’s been a while since I’ve written about one of my strange meat escapades, so here’s a new one.

Hiking in the Cordillera Mountains of the Philippines, I got to experience some of the freshest food I’ve ever eaten. Along the way, I stayed in local homes and ate the way that the locals ate. I quickly learned that Chicken Adobo is a local specialty and although adobo can be found throughout the Latin American world, I found it to be a bit different in the Philippines.

As I hiked, I passed chickens all over the place; in fields, along the path, and in courtyards. But I knew something the chickens didn’t: one of them was going to be my dinner.

One night, as I was sitting around and waiting for my meal, I saw a local grab a chicken and bring it to the slaughter. I had always been under the impression that chickens are slaughtered by cutting their heads off (check this out), and then they run around for a while without their heads. Apparently this isn’t true everywhere, because when my chicken adobo for the night was brought to me, I found a little something interesting in my bowl. It wasn’t the chicken feet or various organs (I was used to these by now), it was the chicken head that surprised me. Mainly the surprise was how similar it looked to a live chicken head, except it was covered in sauce.

I was mildly disgusted, but I got over it quickly. The chicken adobo was just too good, and maybe a little of that taste had been enhanced by the chicken brain itself, which I may or may not have eaten.