How Would You Survive?
Do you have any bushcraft skills? If you were lost in the wild do you have the skills to build a shelter, start a fire, find water and locate some food? #?
Living in our modern, convenience food world we have all lost touch with the sources of our food. Today, children grow up in cities and many have no idea where their food comes from. I once met a young man who had no idea that burgers were made from beef. I have not idea what he thought they were made from.
If you are lost in the wild you might be surprised to find that there are no all night supermarkets. It's a useful skill to be able to recognise what is safe to eat and what is potentially harmful. You may have seen Bear Grylls surviving in some of the most inhospitable locations on the planet where he always finds and eats whatever he can find. Something you may have noticed is that Bear is never without his bushcraft knife, an essential survival tool, these things certainly are not toys.
Wild berries can be an excellent source of nutrition. Our ancient ancestors would have gathered nuts, berries and grain when in season and eaten these routinely. But some berries can be deadly poisonous.
Yew berries, for instance, are the cause of a high number of poisonings every year. The berries are scarlet in colour and about 8 to 10mm in diameter. The berries look deceptively appetising leading many young children to eat then.
Deadly Nightshade is another of the berries which puts people in hospital every year. The clue is in the name, but the trick is being able to recognise the plant. This plant, also known as Belladonna, produces sweet tasting berries in September that have lead to many children visiting the hospital.
A potential source of protein, although somewhat distasteful to many, are insects. It may seem surprising but most insects are actually edible. Most insects are actually very high in protein but low in fat.Grasshoppers, crickets, wood grubs and mealworms are all a safe bet for eating. Most insects taste better when barbecued and you can even grind them up into a flour like powder.
Birds, rabbits and other small animals are all generally good to eat, but not so easy to catch. This especially true if you are lost in the wild without any form of weapon. In these circumstances some form of trap will possibly provide the best chance of catching an animal.
You may have read this thinking that you will never be lost in the wild, so desperately hungry that you would eat your own socks. But this really could happen to you. All you have to do is stray from the main path through a forest, as I once did, and before you know it you are disoriented and lost. That's when you'll wish you'd paid more attention to Ray Mears Extreme Survival.

