Survival Shows

Survivorman Amazon Jungle Review - On this episode of Survivorman, Les Stroud is stranded in the Amazon jungle. This episode of Survivorman teaches quite a bit, although I didn’t think it was one of the best episodes. However, there were some very interesting facts taught throughout the show that would definitely come in handy for anyone who might be stranded in this area. First, let’s go over some of the important aspects of the show that were either interesting or beneficial to the viewers:

Dangers on land—Did you know that there are over 40 species of frogs in the Amazon jungle that are poisonous? And some of these are so extremely poisonous that all you have to do is touch them and then touch your mouth and you could die. So, if any of us are ever stranded in the Amazon, we now know not to eat frogs! It is also an area famous for poisonous snakes, spiders and scorpions.

Dangers in the water—they typically stay in calmer waters, so if you are ever fishing in the Amazonian river, you should do so where the waters are moving to avoid an encounter with these painful stingers. Other concerns in the water are electric eels and even spiny catfish.

We now know why it’s called a rainforest—not only does it rain almost every day of the year in the Amazon jungle, but we saw how the rain just continues to pour, to the point that the river rose approximately 3 feet in a matter of minutes. It also made it a very difficult situation for Les when there was so much moisture in the air that the cameras began to shut down one by one due to so much moisture in the air.

How to deal with bugs—if you must sleep somewhere, it is best to build a platform if you can, to raise yourself up off the ground. While this is not a guaranteed way to avoid encounters with bugs, it can help. Another tip Les shared was that, if you are ever stung by a wasp or any other bug with a stinger, it is best to flick them away instead of slapping or swatting them directly onto your skin, as this could drive the stinger into the skin even further. He did also recognize how this is easier said than done, and Les’ truthfulness is one of my favorite things about him.

Natives aren’t always nice—if you will be visiting the Amazon jungle, it is best to know your surroundings well in case you get lost. While Les did receive help from a neighboring village, he also stated that there are certain territories that contain hostile natives, and if you wander into them, you might not come out alive.

Interesting points about the show—the encounter with the jaguar during the show, where you can obviously see how terrified Les is, and he actually has to leave to find a safer place to be, truly shows how fearful the jungle would be in this situation. On a minor scale, all of the video shows Les nearly covered in bugs, and his sense of humor shows through as he refers to some bugs on his arm as his friends. There was one lesson on the show that probably shouldn’t be followed, and this is using termite nests to create a smoky fire. The termite nest did smoke, and Les said it was supposed to be a method of keeping away jaguars and a way of fighting foot fungus. Whether or not it would actually work for the fungus, we never got to see because a jaguar showed up and chased him away shortly after he started the smoking! So, maybe this wasn’t the best advice he has ever received. I doubt he would try it again, and I don’t think I would!

The main thing that I didn’t care for about the show was that Les had such difficulty catching a fish. He tried many methods, but still kept coming up empty, and he didn’t eat for four days!

First, he tried fishing by hand, sticking his hand up into a calm brush area where fish might be staying. I was disappointed that he was unable to get anything, but I was also disappointed that he didn’t really discuss this type of fishing, what it is called or how popular it is. Watching him fish in this way (it is called either grappling or noodling) made it almost seem as if it were impossible, even though this is a popular form of fishing for catfish that many people use on a regular basis (although it isn’t legal everywhere). When that didn’t work, he tried fishing with a homemade fishing pole (the hook made out of the tab off a soda can he brought with him) with no luck. Then he made a fishing net out of sticks and his mosquito net. He did come up with some little freshwater shrimp, but I was disappointed that it took him 4 days to be able to make a catch at all.

Other than this one aspect, the show was good and very informative. And, except for that one little lesson about termite nest smoke, all of the information given throughout the show was very informative and would definitely benefit anyone who might be stranded in this area.