A Complete Guide to Surviving in the Wilderness by Terri Paajanen

A Complete Guide to Surviving in the Wilderness by Terri Paajanen

Author:Terri Paajanen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: survive, wilderness, adventure, scenarios, rescue, life-saving, stranded, deserted, hiking, danger, plan, animals, shelter, food
Publisher: Atlantic Publishing Group Inc.
Published: 2012-11-15T00:00:00+00:00


Foraging for Animals

Gathering wild plants for food is the more efficient way to quickly feed yourself and your group in an emergency, but longer-term survival situations might end up requiring more calories than leaves and roots can provide. Winter emergencies can also greatly reduce the amount of plant material you will be able to forage. Knowing how to get meat or fish for food will be a vital skill in these scenarios. Cleaning and preparing your catch is covered a little later in this section.

Hunting

This might seem to be the more exciting option for getting animal food, but unless you have some previous skill and experience in tracking animals in the wild, you will probably stay hungry. The next sections cover trapping and fishing, which is more likely to provide results for an outdoors novice. If you do wish to try your hand at hunting for game animal, here are a few tips.

Your first task will be to get a weapon. It is possible to fashion a bow and arrow with a little skill and a sharp knife, but the reality is that it will probably be a waste of time and resources for anyone who is not already familiar with using these tools. Instead, stick to the simpler options. A thrown rock or stout stick can daze a small animal long enough for you move in for the kill. Another stick that has a sharpened tip can be used to impale and kill the animal once you get in closer.

Finding an animal is the harder part. In the winter, tracks are more abundant to follow, but you can usually make out trails through the grass or underbrush if you are observant enough. Chapter 10 includes more details on recognizing tracks. If you have some food to spare, a little bait can help bring an animal to you. Sitting and waiting will be tedious, but it will save more energy than roaming through the woods for hours.

Trapping

Trapping is the better option for getting small animals, though it is far from foolproof. It will be easier to set traps or snares if you have the proper wire in your kit, but you can make do with twine or heavy string if necessary. Other types of traps can be set without any wire or string and might be a better alternative if you do not have the supplies.

There are dozens of different ways to set a trap for an animal; some will require more skill than others. To keep these instructions simple, this section will cover two basic types: the deadfall trap and the wire snare. Further research should be done to find complete diagrams of the triggering methods, and you should practice putting these together before any emergencies come up.

Deadfall Traps

A deadfall trap is built so a heavy object (a large rock or log) will fall on the animal when it is triggered, ideally killing it right away. A figure-4 trigger is the most common way of constructing one of these, with three sticks that have been cut with notches to create a precisely balanced trap.



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