Survival Essay, Research Paper

If I Were Kicked Off the Continent and Had to Survive in the Wild, Would I be Successful?

By Guy Truba

If you had to ask yourself that question what would your response be? Many people might think that it wouldn’t be too hard. Others might think it impossible. Whatever your response might be there are still many factors that would affect whether or not you could beat the odds.

First of all, one of the most important factors, ATTITUDE. If you want to survive badly enough, you’ll survive. Instead of thinking that you’re a goner and that you’ll never make it, you know that your going to make it. You tell yourself that no matter what your not going to die in this place. If you believe that then you have a very good chance of pulling through. Never give up hope.

Second, if you don’t have any skills or at least outdoor sense the odds are not going to be in your favor. Things like navigation, the ability to find your way North, South, East and West, the ability to build shelters and traps for food, etc. Incorporated with this are knot tying and the location of your shelter and traps. There’s more to it than just building it and making sure it stands. You want to be able to locate them in the safest and most effective places. Next, having a knowledge of animals and how to react in dangerous situations will be a very valuable asset when you’re in an unfamiliar place. If you have little or no understanding of animals then you should restrict yourself, as much as possible, to open areas so you can see what’s around you. This means staying away from dense bush, etc. Then there is always taking care of getting food and water safely and having enough to sustain yourself. You should know how to boil and/or filter water properly so you don’t end up sick. I mentioned the traps earlier and also if you can somehow rig up some sort of fishing or hunting equipment that would be a way of getting food. There are many skills and precautions that should be taken while in the wild, but very little people know even half of the minimum requirements for survival.

Having more than one person in the wild with you is probably the best chance of survival. With another person or persons you could share your knowledge and help each other out. Even just having company would help you keep hope. Working together there is no telling what is possible even in the worst conditions.

If I were trying to survive in the wild, I would want people with me first of all. It would be really hard to do it all by myself. I would know the basics of what to do, how to get food, water, shelter, etc. I would kind of know what to do to keep safe from animals and things like that. My knowledge isn’t extensive, but there is some.

So, would I survive in the wild if I was forced to? Considering all the factors and depending on the circumstances, whether there was more than one of us out there, and my basic knowledge of survival techniques I’d say that I could beat the odds and win over mother nature.