Man vs. Wild

Have I mentioned before that I am somewhat of a survivalist? Being such, I enjoy watching all things having to do with the subject. Lately I have been watching a show on the Discovery Channel called "Man vs. Wild" that I really felt had to be mentioned. I know this kind of show isn't for everyone but if you are going anywhere near the wilderness there are some things about basic survival you should learn first.

A young British fellow, by the name of "Bear Grylls" (yes that's Bear), hosts this show, and puts himself out in different locals, where people may get stranded, and then tries to survive and escape the area.

He's definitely not the first person to do a show like this but I've found his show to be much more interesting than some others I have seen. At first I thought he was nothing more than a thrill seeker (he may still be that) but after watching half a dozen shows or so, I've come to the conclusion that he's really willing to "take it to the edge", and his survival techniques are sound, though at times quite extreme. Surviving in the wild often requires that you do some extreme things.

In last nights show he parachuted (he usually parachutes into the area he is going to survive in) into the African Savannah and worked at surviving the native wildlife while trying to find his way out. During the show he came across a zebra carcass that had been killed by lions and fed on by vultures. I was quite impressed when he proceeded to cut and eat raw meat off of the carcass with his knife and sometimes tearing at it with his teeth. In another part of the show he passes up drinking water from a stagnant pool where he finds a dead turtle, deeming that the water was unfit to drink, but later finds some elephant dung that he then squeezes the "fluid" out of, into his mouth, and drinks that. From my point of view the stagnant water seemed much more appealing. Yes this show can get quite gross at times, but I'm still very impressed at the lengths he's willing to go to, not only to survive, but also to make a television documentary.

Many people get lost in the wilderness each year with very little to survive on, and almost no knowledge of what they need to do to survive. This show, though at times gross, gives a lot of good information on just what you should do if you find yourself in just such a situation. So far I have seen "Bear" survive in the Moab Dessert,Sierra Nevada Mt. Range, Costa Rican Rain Forest, Mt. Kilauea Lava Fields, European Alps and African Savannah all of which are places where people get lost in every year and don't survive. The outcome, for these people, could have been different had they just a little bit of training on survival in the area they were venturing into. Most of these techniques have been handed down through the generations from our distant ancestors who used them in every day life in order to survive and allow our society to rise to the level it has. The vast majority of people in our society could not survive without their grocery stores and taxi cabs, yet they still go on vacations, and get lost, in these areas wholly unprepared for what can await them.

"Man vs. Wild" airs on the Discovery Channel on Friday nights at 9:00 pm EST (and also some other times). They also have a very good Website that has survival techniques, videos and lots of other information about surviving in the wilderness. The website also includes many video highlights from the show and information and videos from other survival experts such as "Les Stroud" ("Survivorman", one of my other favorite shows) and "Ross Mcfaden". You can find out more about "Bear Grylls" at his Website, which includes information about some of the other adventures he's filled his life with. He has lived a very interesting life for such a young man, which includes climbing Mt. Everest at 23, being in the British Special Forces, going through the French Foreign Legion Basic Training ("Escape to the Legion" documentary on the Military Channel which is how I discovered him) and being a Black Belt.

Next weeks show he is in an Alaskan Mountain Range and being confronted with having to cross a glacier, he chooses to go "under" it! I think I may just be able to tune in to see that...