Creepy footage showing a slug going head-to-head with a Venus flytrap has caught the attention of thousands of people online.
For the most part, plants are considered to be pleasant, often pretty things we welcome into our homes and admire out in nature. It's no secret that they can be harmful, causing rashes and stings, but as long as you know what to avoid then you're usually pretty safe.
That is, unless you're a slug that fails to recognise a Venus flytrap when it sees one.
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Check out what happened to one unfortunate slug below:
Unlike many other plants, the Venus flytrap is known for its carnivorous eating habits, which were put on display in all their glory in this clip posted by the TikTok page interestingplant, and shared on Instagram by Plant Based News.
In the video, the unsuspecting slug can be seen slithering its way towards the plant that has its leafy 'jaws' open, ready for eating. Almost as soon as the slug gets its head in between the two sides of the flytrap, it slams shut and traps the slug in its midst, causing the little bug to fall from the pot behind.
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The slug starts to struggle and appears to slide further into the flytrap, but it refuses to give up too easily as it forces its way back to the edge of the 'mouth' and begins to push through, making progress as its head pops back out into the open air.
Determined not to lose its life to a plant on this occasion, the slug then slithers the rest of its body out and away from the plant.
The bizarre series of events received a lot of comments from viewers, who have described the clip as both 'concerning' and 'distressing'.
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One person responded, 'Didn't think feeling sad about a slug was going to be in the cards today,' while another wrote: 'Wow, I’ve never seen anything escape a Venus fly trap!'
According to the National Wildlife Foundation, the Venus flytrap has 'hair-like projections' called trichomes on its inner surface which allow it to snap shut when prey comes into contact with them. To prevent the plant from wasting energy, the trap will only shut when the trichomes are touched multiple times.
Hopefully the lucky slug will have learned from its mistake and will stick to interacting with friendlier plants from now on.
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Emily Brown