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MORIMOTOM said:
perhaps zebra meat is better raw, like tar-tar steak?
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Heh! I LOVE steak tartar, more commonly known as "wildcat" in my neck of the woods. Usually made with a lean cut like sirloin, generous salt and pepper, Worchestershire sauce, and plenty onions. Every woman I know, and a lot of men, think I'm insane. But I've eaten raw beef my whole life and never got sick from it.

Incidentally, Bear didn't really seem to enjoy the zebra meat all that much. But from a nutrition point of view, he's 100% right that fresh meat will keep you going a long time. Animal proteins digest slowly, and fill up your tummy, keeping you from feeling hungry.

I was kind of thinking out loud, is all... seems to me, if I find a supply of fresh meat, I'm gonna take as much as I can carry. If time and materials weren't a huge factor, I could :jerkit: , ho ho. At the least, cooking it normally would keep it safe for a couple days.

Sidenote: Bear's use of the aloe plant reminded me that I really need one for the house. When I was a kid, my mom always had an aloe growing, that was our first-aid for cuts and scrapes. It works, no question. I never saw a red/purple one like he used, the ones mom had were just plain green.

Another nit-pick: if I had a cut on my arm in the boonies, I would at least roll my sleeve down to keep dirt out of it, if I didn't have something to bandage it with.
 
This was My first chance to watch this show and i enjoyed it. He definiteley had a gerber Gator this week. Which looked well used in one shot. I have one that I have had for ten years. it has beeen well used, for chopping prying cutting, etc and is still in good shape. I dont know if i would choose it for my only folder if i was heading to africa, but it was my choice as a hiking/camping folder for many trips in the US.

I agree that i definitley would have found a way to cover my wound or at least roll down my sleeves. I also would have harvested more aloe for the road.

The zebra Tar tar was interesting, he said as he was cutting it that he was taking only enough to eat over the next hour or so, I suppose he was concerned about spoilage or perhaps attracting critters.


I would have definitley made a spear/walking stick in this environment and kept it with me in case i startled upon something in the brush.

Did he have a cup for the canteen this week, I diddnt see him use it. I would have used it to drink while leaving the watering hole just to get extra hydration while it was available without depleating the canteen.
 
EmsRescueGuy said:
I would have definitley made a spear/walking stick in this environment and kept it with me in case i startled upon something in the brush.

Did he have a cup for the canteen this week, I diddnt see him use it. I would have used it to drink while leaving the watering hole just to get extra hydration while it was available without depleating the canteen.
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Bear did make a point (ho ho) of lashing his knife to a stick when he was considering sleeping in that cave, this is just common sense.

About the water, my g/f and I both wondered, why didn't he take a good gulp or two of water, and then refill his canteen? I know it's bad to bloat yourself by chugging down too much water at a time.

As others have said, I do find it disturbing that Bear seems willing to drink anything from anywhere, with no regard to safety. One of the first things I ever bought when thinking about camping/survival, was iodine water-purification tabs. They're so inexpensive, and a bottle of 50 is so small, you're an absolute fool not to carry them.

To be fair, Bear did point out in this episoide that stagnant water is no good. He showed a turtle corpse in that first "stream" he found, and rightly explained that it was likely putting all kinds of horrible crap in the water.
But he seems to perpetuate the notion that if the water is flowing clear, it's safe. That's dumb; who knows if a dead animal or other source of terrible bacteria is 20 yards upstream, around a corner where you didn't see it?

I have yet to see Bear take the time to boil or chemically purify his water, and I find that pretty irresponsible. Les did make that point pretty clear in his "Urban Survival" show last week.

I've had the squirts in a normal situation, and I know how weak and useless it made me feel. I don't want to imagine how tough a case of the shits would be in the boondocks.

I still enjoy the shows, and I enjoy us discussing it.
 
Compared to Bear I think Les Stroud (Survivorman) is a real survival guru. But neither of them can compare to the survivor skills of Ray Mears.
 
I did like the part with the snake...

Give those puppies a wide area and all will be well...I was half expecting him to try and pick it up!!!

You would be surprised how many goofs would do so!!!

Ohh yea...wasnt the most venomous...That title would goto the Mamba!!! :)
 
As far as cooking on the Savannah goes, never been. I am wondering how far the smell of cooking meat will travel, and how many seconds it would take for a pride of lions to converge on it :) Pooh. Is there anything it can't do? (Sorry, Homer) Any bets on the next pooh trick?
 
His knife looked like a Gerber Gator to me. Someone really needs to hook him up with some good fixed bladeware. Cold Steel SRK, KA-BAR, RAT 7, a good multi-tool, etc.
 
cjpgeyer said:
As far as cooking on the Savannah goes, never been. I am wondering how far the smell of cooking meat will travel, and how many seconds it would take for a pride of lions to converge on it :)
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Hmmm... you do have a point there.
 
Which do lions know better...the smell of cooking meat or raw?

Steak tartar...My uncle was a WW2 vet.
An engineer in Burma.
He loved steak tartar as described above, with the addition of a raw egg on top.

As a small child, I asked him if he could die from eating raw meat.
His response was:
"If the Japanese couldn't kill me, this won't either."
:D

Bear/Les...its television :D
 
Originally posted by GibsonFan

I have yet to see Bear take the time to boil or chemically purify his water, and I find that pretty irresponsible.
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I’ve heard that people can build resistance to most of the bugs found in natural water, all you have to do is get enough exposure. For a normal person to go drinking unpurified water in a survival situation would be dangerous. For the properly conditioned outdoorsman, it’s normal.
 
Yeah JoshuaJ, but he's in a different location every time. Doesn't that mean different bugs to get used to?


A couple of my cousins used to get mildly sick when they went up north to the cabin and drank the well water, but they were fine after a day or two, so I understand what you're saying. But even that wouldn't matter if there's a rotten tortoise corpse upstream :(
 
i would bet he gets all his shots before going in to a new location.

and i just watch for entertainment, im not researching for a safari or any of the other wild places he visits.

if i was stranded, im a city boy and doubt id remember anything on the shows specifically enough to apply to my situation.

but that said, i cant say definitively if what either guy does would or wouldnt work, but its fun to watch them do their thing.
 
At this point you have to ask how often are you going to come across spoiled water that looks clean? If Bear has been doing outdoor trekking for a while then he probably knows the risk he’s taking, and it’s probably not a great risk compared to what many ordinary people have to do every day.
 
Joshua J. said:
I’ve heard that people can build resistance to most of the bugs found in natural water, all you have to do is get enough exposure. For a normal person to go drinking unpurified water in a survival situation would be dangerous. For the properly conditioned outdoorsman, it’s normal.
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You might want to research that, partner, before relying on it. Disease, and primarily water-borne diseases, killed more in our Civil War than all other causes combined -- and they were still dying after years "in the field." Check the death toll from cholera in India. It's not tourists who are dying.

And if the "bugs" don't kill you, they often leave you flat on your back for days -- not useful in a survival situation. (It makes it harder to carve spoons.)
 
I agree that not treating water fior the sake of a television show is a bit irresponsible.

Heres why I think you should always treat water unless death from dehydration is eminent.

I have had the unfortunate experience of having "it" coming out of both ends in the bush (2 days hike out) after drinking clear cold fast running water. This can be very serious. Not only is it demoralizing psychologically, but it drains you physically as well, and you get extremely dehydrated. Keep in mind, you won't have a nice comfy toilet to sit on either. Sure, at first when it first strikes you at 2am, your a bit concerned about not getting any your boots, but later when the sun is coming up and your legs are burning from squatting so much you really just don't care. Add to that a fever and some dry heaving and you may as well just take your pants off and lie down.
Fortunately for me I wasn't in a survival situation and I didn't have rain or bad weather to contend with. I can't imagine being sick shelterbound or with an injury. *shudder*

Then there are the long lasting effects, parasites that can effect you for years after being infected. Some burrowing through tissue, some affecting everyting from joints to eyesight and other organ functions. And thats just the tip of the iceberg.

I'm sure that a certain level of immunity can be built up to waterbourne pathogens, the immune system is a truely remarkable thing.However you will most likely have to pay your dues. Dues like the aforementioned or those that could quite possibly kill or give you lifelong disease. Indigenous ppl all over the world drink untreated water, then again the average life expectancy for them is about 42 years of age for males and 45 for females. Not to say that waterbourne illness is the sole cause, but I doubt it helps as Thomas pointed out.

Needless to say I treat all of my water.

That being said, I find Man vs Wild very entertaining. Bear is obviously a bit of an adventerous adrenaline junky, I think he takes the risks he does because to do otherwise wouldn't really be living at all to him. After his injury I doubt he would have ever skydived again had it not been for his love of adventure. I like adventure too, but of the more immediate kind like climbing waterfall ice and the like. Activities that skill and progression can get you through. Seeing what kind of water I can drink and how sick I can get?.......not so much.
 
I believe most parasites can be dealt with using drugs, the people dying of cholera in India probably don’t have access to medicine, and while extreme diarrhea may be torture, it is one of the things you would build immunity to.
So that leaves us with the insects you can’t kill with drugs. Once again I’ll say that Bear is probably well aware of all the nastiest parasites he can get, and takes that into consideration when he does what he does.
Though, at this point to remain healthy and drink from natural water sources you need to be an expert in parasites and visit your specialist regularly. Or you could purify your water.
I’ll agree that he’s showing off.
 
I paid more attention to the last episode, i'm now conviced he has more than one guy with him since he was using the plural "guys" when referring to whatever was behind the camera. There is also a survival expert listed on the credits, who probably doesn't like Bear all that much since he made him drink elephant shit water. :D

I have seen bear boil his water (generally makes himself a nice cup of tea) and even the times when he doesn't he certainly mentions that you should. He doesn't carry chemical treatments because he's playing the lost tourist, not the prepared survivalist. The times i haven't seen him boil water were in the africa episode (probably not wise, but he was hiking the sahara) and a couple times where he was drinking snow melt...which is pretty low risk. The show is evolving as well. This episode he left his parachute behind because it was unlikely that the stranded safari goer would have a parachute.
 
I think it's a fun show to watch. I'm not survival expert so I can't comment on if what he is showing is accurate, useful, etc. So I ask this to those of you who know a thing about survival, if a person found themself stranded in one of the places Bear has "survived" on his show, would they be better off if they had not watched his show and knew nothing about how to survive, or if they watched his show and were able to use some of the things they learned to help themselves, if what they learned would be of any real help?

If the answer is the average person would be better off (even if it's just a little bit) after watching Bear's show and using what they learned to help keep themselves alive then Bear has helped that person.

Maybe the point of Bear's show is to try and get some basic survival information out to as many people as possible. Making the show fun will appeal to a larger audience. If it was just the nuts and bolts it may not reach the people that actually need some advice when it comes to staying alive in a survival situation.

The show seems to target areas of the world that are known for attracting tourists and having tourists get lost and stranded. I don't know if Bear's advice is good or bad. If you were stuck in one of these places would it be better to stay put and try to make signal fires, etc, and wait to be rescued? I kind of feel many people aren't in the type of physical shape Bear is, and if they tried to seek out civilization they would probably die trying to do so.
 
kgriggs8 said:
Does anyone know when the new season of Survivorman is going to air? Also, does any one know where I can buy Les Stroud's "Off the Grid" film? I hear it airs in Canada from time to time but I have not seen it on any US stations.

For my money, Les Stroud is much more entertaining for some reason. I don't if it is because he is kind of a dork and I can identify with him more than the super stud Bear but I like him. I feel like I could learn enough to be able to do what Les does but I am just not in good enough shape to do what Bear does.
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My wife and I call that show "survivorham" and get a kick out of some of his scenarios. He looks pretty damn together when he says that he hasn't eaten in 4-5 days. Odds are that I'd probably die were he would live, maybe, in some of these settings because he does explore different climates/regions. But I do see a little BS around the edges in some of his shows.
 
I like the way he just bulls his way though stuff.
I used to do that when I was younger.
Now I take the time to be more cautious cause ankle and other such injuries would sure slow me down if I was out there trying to get somewhere.
 
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