The wild world of carnivorous plants - Kenny Coogan

Venus fly traps, bladderworts and sundews, oh my! Learn about carnivorous plants and their predatory antics to lure, trap and digest prey.
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Around the world there are more than 600 plant species that supplement a regular diet of sunlight, water and soil with insects, frogs and even rats. Flies, tadpoles and beetles fall prey to the remarkable, predatory antics of carnivorous plants. What exactly are carnivorous plants and how do they trap their prey? Kenny Coogan dives into the world of these flesh-eating tricksters.
Lesson by Kenny Coogan, directed by Lisa LaBracio.
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View full lesson: ed.ted.com/lessons/the-wild-w...
Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Antony Lee, Husain Mohammad, Max Shuai Tang, Côme Vincent, Astia Rizki Safitri, Alan Froese, alessandra tasso, Gerald Onyango, Katrina Harding, Ezgi Yersu, Al the Scottish Wildcat, Katie Dean, Kin Lon Ma, Carsten Tobehn, Boris Langvand, Jeremy Fryd, Charlene You, Carolyn Corwin, rakesh Katragadda, Sergi Páez, Jørgen Østerpart, Karla Brilman, Cindy O., Nicu Boanda, Reagen O'Connor, Sabrina Gonzalez, Dino Biancolini, FAWWAZ GHUWAIDI, Hadi Salahshour, Clement, Sarah Burns, Abdullah Altuwaijri, Jessie McGuire, Divina Grace Dar Santos, Brian Richards, Farah Abdelwahab, Joe Meyers, Mikhail Shkirev, Raphaël LAURENT, Malcolm Callis, Sweetmilkcoco, David Matthew Ezroj, Ever Granada, fatima kried, Begum Tutuncu, Mehmet Sencer KARADAYI, Christian Kurch, SungGyeong Bae, Luis Felipe Ruiz Langenscheidt and Joe Huang.

[@annandres8483]

Insects: plants are delicious These plants: *UNO REVERSE CARD*

[@bulletkin7645]

Delicious are plants

[@HuyenPhan-ir2wo]

Ann Andres These plants: No...... U!

[@sumedhasarkar1394]

Hilarious!

[@paulcastillo1880]

@@bulletkin7645 Are delicious plants

[@legreatpotato8888]

Plants who has uno reverse card powerup

[@mywhiteproblems]

Damn, why'd they have to include the bugs screams of terror?

[@jahuahua112]

Ik. Makes me feel bad.

[@sydneydianecatdianecateati6134]

T

[@HuyenPhan-ir2wo]

mywhiteproblems BECAUSE THEY HAVE FEELINGS!

[@a_neon_e7126]

The little meeping noises made me guilty about a piece of play doh 😫

[@s_nuka]

mywhiteproblems wow

[@pacopiedad6182]

Vegans: Eating meat is wrong Carnivorous Plants: *Hold my enzymes*

[@izzojunior]

😂😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣

[@ivangutierrez1897]

If a carnivorous plant could eat you. They would

[@HuyenPhan-ir2wo]

Paco Piedad Carnivorous Plants: Think again and hold my beer.

[@WadcaWymiaru]

More like: hold my nectar...

[@Harry-cy5vz]

HOLD MY ENZYMES

[@prafullyt]

"Digested alive, bit by bit" - most scary line of all!

[@SKtheMage]

scary horror movie when you see the girl being eaten in the stomach. and blood flows

[@user-lo1dl4xn1h]

We chop plants limbs off and keep them alive in our fridges later to instead of murder them eat them alive

[@naobtrdoitenkkk]

Yes I just heard that

[@marianaonofrei1359]

@@SKtheMage uhhh... What's the movie?

[@FriendlyNeighborhoodsocialist]

i read this just as i heard that line

[@xiraleighsaenz]

Just when the mayfly thought its life is going smoothly Addison: oh I felt that

[@christianluthergaco518]

Yeah felt that too.

[@thebleachseller844]

*o* *h*

[@itachiswill5263]

Same

[@TuanAnhNguyen-en9bx]

O O F

[@oddpotato4038]

If you're having a bad day think about that mayfly 😂

[@bianca8583]

okay but can we all appreciate this clay animation type of video, this was so interesting to watch

[@twilightundersky8658]

Your life was a lie

[@thebee-lester37yearsago28]

True.

[@haziqashraff1029]

Isnt it stop motion?

[@Olkv3D]

word. props to all the artist/animators in these vids.

[@Zyra-Not-The-LOL-One]

@@twilightundersky8658 thank you for that unnecessary insult, i think?

[@samarendra109]

The video was surprisingly dark. 😨

[@DarkMage2k]

If you call this dark, my friend, don't explore further into the internet.

[@reina4969]

It is the struggling noises while the creatures get eaten. ;)

[@N0URii]

easy dude

[@imabird1566]

What did you expect from CARNIVOROUS PLANTS.

[@porque6835]

Digested alive..... Yes it was dark

[@turbojake3457]

I don’t think we appreciate how plants just sit there like an inanimate object because the second they move like a thinking organism it’s effing terrifying.

[@lalibdihahs2965]

Bladderwort: The Fastest trap in the West

[@Roderick789]

They obviously don't know my ex... That was fast.

[@haronorthconneris8098]

THAT WHAT SHE SAID!!! HA HA!! GOT EIM!!!!

[@conkle4787]

And most... Disturbing to say the least

[@kayagorzan]

You yee’d your last haw

[@Electroblade360]

Those Insects Have Yee'd Their Last Haw

[@anshumanmishra2012]

addison anderson has the best voice !

[@peoplelikegamers5024]

"let that sink in" said the plant to the poor fly

[@duaasaleh9687]

7bhs

[@bv_2028]

Pitcher Plants:

[@liver-failure]

“ And off the Mayfly goes to live a long and fruitful life.” Frog: eats mayfly “ Oh”

[@HOSHIHJESSICA]

Thanh thuyen

[@Electroblade360]

Mayfly: NANI Frog: UNO REVERSE CARD

[@123zarapop]

even if it lived they only live a day so *THE CIIIRCLE OF LIIIIIIFE*

[@AquaticFlapper125]

That’s only one day

[@user-ny7di4sx6k]

1:52 ...and then the frog itself, eaten by plant. THE END.

[@xMDawg19x]

A TADPOLE? Plants can eat VERTEBRATES?? All my life I only thought plants ate flies, ants, and small insects.

[@sarrakitty]

There are tropical pitcher plants big enough to eat rats even.

[@chicks_before_dicks]

Sarr Cat Holy sh*t!

[@mlaci8234]

tadpoles are invertebrates,,

[@ryujinmaster3491]

@@sarrakitty you could probably selectively breed these to grow larger and larger until you reach a size that can eat even an elephant at the extreme to maybe a small human

[@lordfelidae4505]

They eat mice. And frogs. If they get supersized, they’d not hesitate to eat us. The only limiting factor is size, not biology.

[@CritterCompanionsbyKennyCoogan]

I'm so glad to be a part of this project!

[@unhappyattendantughh2469]

Critter Companions by Kenny Coogan hey good work! Do you think America should be a white ethnostate?

[@dizzyshmizzy2624]

ur comment's a week old... so ur first?

[@shmarfle47]

Can we just appreciate this amazing claymation?

[@ahmedmuawia2447]

I loved that the joke at the end. The voice of this dude when he said Oh ! Was just amazing

[@naveenraj2008eee]

Another nice video ted-ed.. You are educating me more than i what i read in science magazine.. Thanks you ted-ed... And thank you kenny coogan..

[@animallover5626]

We watch a lot of the same channels! I see you in all the comment sections lately, especially parrot channels! Good taste in youtube channels 😜

[@soupdawg2924]

He’s my teacher lol

[@starcherry6814]

*Audrey 2:* "I think it's supper time!"

[@tracydu8052]

Star Cherry 100th Like

[@mahendrasankhe4521]

Ted ed's animation and explaination just makes everything so understandable and the world around us very interesting.

[@Gr95dc]

I think this is one of my favorite videos ever. Everything from the script to the animation and the amazing narrator it's just amazingly well done. Also the sound effects for the insects was a really nice touch. Love it ❤️

[@aryansinghal6270]

When good ol Sunflower turns evil... Sundew😎

[@jakemac5535]

It dew what it dew 😉🤣

[@adventureawaits3860]

Lol

[@zect556]

Don't water your Sunflower with mountain dew

[@user-ds7ji7mh4z]

Howdy, I'm Flowey!

[@wolfmistresswilderr6579]

@@user-ds7ji7mh4z FLOWEY the FLOWER! You're new to CARNIVOROUS PLANTS, aren'tcha? Golly, you must be so confused! Someone ought to teach you how things work around here! I guess little old me will have to do. Ready? Here we go! * Video starts *

[@mintayza7784]

I love the more frequent uploads again. Quality over quantity maybe true, but TED-Ed consistently defies this with loads of amazing videos. This one is uniquely animated and I love it!

[@izzojunior]

Damn these plants are SAVAGE!

[@General_Ace]

"Feed me." - Audrey ll, little shop of horrors. Bruh...

[@dean0481]

Ihatequests Dev doe it have to be human, does it have to be mine? - Seymour , little shop of horrors

[@PinkENBlue]

"Feed me." -Soviet citizens of Stalin's reign

[@goon8486]

Feed me, feed me all night long

[@V0ND4M4N]

@@goon8486 All right here comes the choo-choo *train* ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) *unzips*

[@animationguy3163]

Darkness - Kun OOFFFFFFFFF YOU WANT TO FEED IT THAT

[@siddharthyoyo]

You are doomed if you read the title “coronavirus plants”. Just like me.

[@wanderingsparrow3131]

Oh my goodness, I saw that too!

[@MrCharliemanalo]

No, it's: Carnivorous Plants, not "Coronavirus Plants"!

[@wanderingsparrow3131]

@@MrCharliemanalo Oh, we know that. We are just saying that initially we read carnivorous as coronavirus due to the similarity of the two words.

[@nlenutribullet5659]

Idot

[@1SKRAAC1D]

Oh no

[@paolosanchez5503]

Feel so bad for the insects! I can hear them struggling!

[@muhammadahmed6038]

Oh my goodness! The narration and lack of euphemism in it makes me chuckle

[@khageshbansal2400]

4:50 There is nothing like vilanous in world of nature. Only survival is supreme

[@DanaC-ne7bc]

Scary all the same.

[@raghavbhatia3892]

A video as gifting as it is entertaining! A rare combination! Bravo, Ted-Ed! You've did it again.

[@CritterCompanionsbyKennyCoogan]

Thank you!

[@raghavbhatia3892]

@@CritterCompanionsbyKennyCoogan And thank you, too!

[@k00091]

I like the idea that plants can fight back haha. Excellent video, very informative, and I appreciate the work that went into the animation!

[@walkwithme1850]

🌼butterwart?

[@MsShalu10]

Carnivorous plants have such creative ways of eating bugs, so fascinating.

[@Stickyybenzz]

4:44 What kinda carnivorous plant is that?

[@maricapoo2024]

*F* *R* *O* *G*

[@goldngamer1365]

It's the Wednesday plant that keeps reminding it's wednesday even if it's not

[@thehorsesnamewasfriday8695]

it’s so interesting to me how they evolve to be like this like how did this happen what was the first kind of this plant

[@foxtales980]

Off the mayfly buzzes, to live a long and fruitful life. *Oh*

[@mayfly4000]

Another good video. Fascinating part for me is how they all essentially evolved with the same function but are variegated in so many ways.

[@matiasgonzalez5053]

1:39 Top ten saddest anime deaths

[@Johnny-tw5pr]

Ted-ed should do a video on hydras. I think they are definitely pretty interesting but relatively unknown

[@UrbanHomesteadMomma]

Well now... that was rather morbid... interesting but very dark lol

[@maxtu7859]

Yo these animations are so sick.

[@feg_8700]

For anyone wanting to learn more about these plants and their conservation, I'd suggest visiting the north American sarracenia conservancy (nasc) or the international carnivorous plants society (icps) they're great resources for those looking for further reading

[@basically_avery614]

0:02 yes. F E E D M E

[@ejmtv3]

Wow! TedEd is so active lately! Gonna save these for long holiday binge watching

[@jasminejohnston6393]

I’ve owned a Venus fly trap before. It was fun watching it eat all the flies that got into our house

[@jeidentitus3135]

why did i read this as the coronavirus plant 💀🤦🏻‍♀️

[@devine5902]

Jeiden Titus I thought I was the only one ! 😂

[@princehamlet2253]

me too

[@leylapooyakhan6145]

Lol sameee

[@LuckyLefty7]

Yes! This is the comment i was looking for. Couldn’t have been only me

[@VJETRA]

because it has a bunch of letter that's assemble the word coronavirus which most likely to come to your brain first because you see and think of it very often

[@J4M35_neomon]

Animators: How cute does the insects sound for feeling bad? Ted-ed: *yes*

[@ronaldtongol4058]

I love Carnivorous plants so beautiful yet so deadly at the same time.

[@mathismuller6033]

This is the kind of video that you might think is suitable for kids, but upon further inspection turns out to be a nightmarishly accurate depiction of the biology behind these plants. It seemed so innocent, but when that fly disintegrated I, a biology student, was slightly horrified!

[@ChristianJiang]

2:22 “Once she asphyxiates” Hmm but I want to know how she disappears!!

[@lordfelidae4505]

Christian Jiang eaten

[@roshanzammerhussian9929]

Always love to see Ted-Ed notification

[@dermatologistshatehim]

Corkscrew plant giving me Enigma of Amigara Fault vibes :S

[@Abdega]

“This is my hole, it was made for me”

[@thatguyinthegroup2728]

I love the "Oh." at the end.

[@kewgardensstation]

Loved the little insect cries as they're being digested. Nice touch. :-)

[@UntunedRadio903]

1:30 drug dealer: here some conine from a pitcher plant Fly: wait how did you get it Drug dealer: don't ask

[@unleashingpotential-psycho9433]

Flash eating plants are in sane! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@extracheese5284]

No they’re not in sane. They’re insane.

[@lostevesy]

Is that the next DC villain ?

[@bananatorpedo275]

They’re so advanced the can absorb flashes of light

[@kwini2858]

Thanks for reanimating every bit of my nightmares

[@Justanotherpersonontheinternet]

The quote at the beginning is amazing. I love little shop.

[@LitoDaBurrito]

bruh i thought it said “coronavirus plants” and i was like WTF THEY IN PLANTS NOW🤦‍♂️

[@RandomMusicVibez]

same

[@shannarafryer3111]

Lmfao

[@zahiraibrahim2944]

LMAO 😂😂

[@Mark-Wilson]

XDDDD

[@MustafaAl-Gaberey]

1:25 According to what I saw on wikipedia, the ingredient is spelled Coniine, not Conine.

[@lordfelidae4505]

Mustafa Al-Gaberey Wikipedia.

[@cemaytac5779]

0:40 "i'm tired of drinkin, i wanna chew" - CalebCity

[@djb903]

Thanks for the intro to corkscrew and butterwort, never seen those before!

[@gigagamer8824]

poor tadpole she explodes in bit by bit ALIVE 3:33

[@chesterdagoc5915]

0:31 is that the hungry shark Evo boost sound effect

[@Merfolk_]

Exceptional work with the animation of this vid! Been a while since I've seen clay used in educational videos like these

[@beestarjay]

What a terrifying description in such a lovely animation style

[@aryandivyanshu8324]

If vegans eat flesh eating plants then will they still be vegan? Hmmmm

[@christianweibrecht6555]

Yes, if you eat beef your not also eating the soy bean mixed that was fed to them

[@peterchung2262]

If we eat a herbivore will we be vegan?

[@aryandivyanshu8324]

Phyrun Ouch . what if we eat all vegans? Will it be called cannibalism or vegan salad?

[@Abdega]

My burgers are made from vegetarians so technically they are vegetarian burgers

[@Alkalus]

A very well-done educational piece of work!

[@Alkalus]

Ayyyy...

[@nsi5276]

I am so inspired by the quote. "Feed me"- Audrey II, Little Shop of Horrors

[@cheesyboygouda]

That inspirational quote tho.

[@user-uh9jy7ss4m]

Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell - sums up my highschool biology.

[@TheMuslimMan1337]

Mitochondria also stores proteins (cytochrome c) that initiate the cell's programmed death (apoptosis).

[@lordfelidae4505]

Mustafa Curgu it’s also a bacterium with separate DNA to your body.

[@ganapathimurugappan4585]

Omg i have never been this early

[@lizard3755]

I absolutely loved the animation in this, it made an already interesting topic into a riveting video

[@midknightrockruff5844]

I actually really love the claymation style you guys did with this video

[@xck]

This video looked beautiful and was as full of information to me as a fly is full of nutrients for a plant. Wait, that isn’t a great comparison.

[@sanjuktabhatta4369]

"off the may fly goes to live a fruitful life " 'Two seconds later ' "Oh"

[@strawberrypetrichor]

So fascinating! I love the animations. This makes me miss my little Venus Flytrap - it's a fun plant to raise! Maybe it's time for another... x3

[@misterjoseph1057]

Again a Ted video, and i am here ! 🙂👍

[@orlandogarcia8632]

3:38 Venus fly trap

[@azelmp3]

3:16 the tadpole nooooooooo

[@hanifmacca]

one of my favourite videos this year already!

[@alatussolanum]

I like the claymation like animation and the quote at the begging, makes it interesting :D “Feed me.” - Little shop of horrors

[@alatussolanum]

*beginning

[@ls.1344]

0:51 "Highly acidic" *shows ph 6*

[@lordfelidae4505]

Louiz Sayawan for soil, it is ridiculously acidic. It’s not like they can survive in sulfuric acid.

[@syrathdouglas1244]

Imagine what aliens would think of this, like “You’re telling me that on your planet even the plants eat other organisms?! No wonder your species is so violent if you evolved on a death world like that!”

[@pixolotlroblox]

12345678910

[@SuperMarioJustin4]

I immediately fanboyed when you mentioned Little Shop of Horrors at the beginning! "I'M JUST A MEAN GREEN MOTHER FROM OUTER SPACE, AND I'M BAD!"

[@delicioushitlist]

Just that un-energetic “oh” at the end had me dying

[@ainsleyharris5387]

Okay so this made me curious, so question here. Could Figs be considered into the category of carnivorous plants? Since they’re inverted flowers, the fig wasp needs to crawl inside of them to pollinate them. If they crawl into a female fig, then the fig gets pollinated and also sorta ‘digests’ the wasp for nutrients. I know it’s not carnivorous in the way the video presents the idea, I was curious of others thoughts?

[@robowisanveithasung6022]

technically yes

[@hardaway6711]

If these plants can talk Plants:hahhhhhhh gotchaaaa 😌

[@commenturthegreat2915]

Feed me Seymoure

[@robertbaliquia8531]

Things that made this video funny... • Clay animation • Bugs voices • This... 0:00

[@minajjang8562]

The quote at the intro is such an inspiration :')

[@agent_okami827]

4:21 why did I think that this was a parrot bug?

[@mohanrathode9497]

For a moment I mistook carnivorous for coronavirus.lmao😂😂

[@vee6442]

OMG this is WILD! love the sound effects.

[@pranjalshilkar8329]

Absolutely love the way of narration 👍

[@ventilatedarea.2363]

I misread the title as "coronavirus plants".

[@jeffreycurry7477]

Same

[@drawdo8253]

scrawny noodle same

[@DeathbyPixels]

“Off the mayfly buzzes, to live a long and fruitful life.” Get it? Because they only live for one day?

[@InkWaxstudios100]

Wow 👌 irony at its finest

[@huyenpham1153]

They may live for two.

[@Shadet06Vocaloid]

The animation this time is incredible!

[@faizaa717]

I love the quote ^^ 'Feed me.'

[@paluckkulkarni2524]

1:20 the poor fly was literally drugged and digested alive slooowwwly

[@snehashrestha6046]

I actually saw ‘coronavirus plants’ and was a bit shocked lol but when read it again it was carnivorous plants lol 😂

[@lou626]

i get so excited when i saw "Feed me" in the intro

[@YoungTheFish]

the opening quote cracks me up for some reason