As a former United States Air Force survival instructor with over 20 years of survival experience, Ross McFadyen is the person to answer any question about surviving in the desert, arctic regions, tropical rain forests, open sea and any place in between. Missions have taken Ross to wilderness terrain under all seasonal and climatic conditions. He is a trained EMT and scuba certified. Ross continues to teach survival skills occasionally at the Global Principles Survival School in Panama City, Fla. He was recently featured as a survival expert for Discovery Channel';s show Science of Survival: Shark Survivor.
Ask Ross your survival questions now.
Q: A main concern I have of survival situations is how to find food and water. I know several methods for capturing or finding water such as solar stills, transpiration from plants, looking for vegetated areas, etc., (although I don't know how effective they are!), and the general steps to testing plants for edibility. But how do you find enough food and water to keep going in a strange environment where you don't know the terrain or the plants?
Matthew Walker
A: How would you have gotten into a "strange environment" without knowing it? If you know where you are going, I'd strongly suggest that you do a little research before you go. Learn about the terrain, flora, fauna, indigenous people and their customs, for starters. If you end up in a survival situation, at least you'll have a basis to draw from. Water is the same all over the world. Depending on where you are, you may need to procure it from unknown sources and possibly use things like vegetation or transpiration bags. Transpiration bags are an excellent method for obtaining water. A transpiration bag is nothing more than a big plastic bag placed around the limb of a tree or bush. The best time to do this is in the morning. The bag is then tied around the base of the limb to minimize the loss of water from the bag. Then let the sun do its thing! Collect the water just before dusk and start drinking. Of course, the amount of water to be had will vary depending on the plant and the environment, but this method far surpasses vegetation bags, solar stills, cactus flesh, etc., in yield, ease of assembly and, in most cases, taste. I once collected enough water to fill a two-quart canteen from a transpiration bag. Once your water needs are fulfilled, the search for food can begin. Plants are a great start — they are easy to catch! There are some plants that you may recognize, like cattails. They are found worldwide. If you know the edibility test, then use it. Just be sure that you also know poison characteristics to rule out possible deadly plants before you begin. Then there are insects — found worldwide — as well as birds, snakes, frogs, fish ... you get the picture? I guess the best advice I can give to you is to take some survival courses so that you can increase your survivability in strange environments and also your self-confidence!
