Survival in Brazil's Open Country

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Jan 7, 2003
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When people think of Brazil they think jungle. While that is true for much of the country Central Brazil has a great deal of open savannah and scrub land called Cerrado. The Cerrado is characterized by low forests, dry vegitation, grassy meadows, and rocky terrain. It is a neat place to practice survival skills.

Shelter resources are limited to rock shelters, grass insulation, and twisted brush for building structures. Normally to lessen our impact on the area we use ponchos or tarps for shelter. I try not to cut any woody vegitation that isn't already dead from the last fire. This land burns off every few years so I don't worry about ripping up grass for bedding or clearing small patches of ground. It's pretty much use it or lose it.

img3501qi1.jpg

This is a shot taken near our camp to give you an idea of the kind of area where we shot the video.

Cerrado Survival Techniques

Mac
 
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your link isn't working...and directs me to an invalid ID when i try to fix it...
 
hey Pict,
great picture and it looks to be a very beautiful area. I'll be heading to Sao Paulo and Pantanal from July-Aug and am very excited. Any chance you could please send me a PM regarding knife laws in Brazil as I haven't had any luck finding info. I doubt I'll be camping at all but I need to find out what i can EDC. Also maybe you could teach me some Portuguese?

thanks
 
Fixed the link, it should be working now. Thanks for the heads up! Mac
 
another cool video! Who owns that land, or is it a national park? Are you allowed to bring a rifle? What dangerous wildlife is out there? (Besides hornets)
 
Andy,

The land I use is a mixed bag of State Forest Reserve, private land (where I have permission to camp) and a mining lease up in the mountains. The state forest reserve is restricted to daytime activities but they don't patrol and have given me tacit approval to do what I want, they have a "We didn't see nothing" attitude towards me. Friends in low places are solid gold. The mining lease is inactive and they don't patrol their property either, strictly don't ask, don't tell. All the high altitude stuff I do is on the border of the forest reserve and mine property. The Cerrado is private land and reserve, and the lower forest is all reserve land. It is a very cool place with three distinct ecosystems all bordering each other.

Firearms are a big no-no in Brazil so I don't take them with me.

This area does have mountain lion and ocelot but they are rare. There are also maned wolves but they are very elusive, totally harmless. The biggest mammal is the tapir but they live in very thick brush so seeing one is like finding a unicorn. The lower forests have monkeys, anaconda, and boas. The Cerrado has rattlers but I haven't run across them. The Cerrado also has aramdillos and aneaters. Everything is nocturnal so you don't normally see wildlife in the day. The biggest animal danger is the bugs. Mac
 
The lower forests have monkeys, anaconda, and boas
Do Brazillian monkeys (species?) attack people like some African baboons have been known to do? You put them in the same sentence with anacondas and boas, so I figured they might be dangerous.
 
No, they're harmless, alot of fun to watch but no real danger. Guilt by association. Mac
 
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