Survival skills
Survival skills are techniques used to sustain life in any type of natural environment or built environment. These techniques are meant to provide basic necessities for human life, including water, food, and shelter. Survival skills also support proper knowledge and interactions with animals and plants to promote the sustaining of life over time.
This article is about survival techniques. For other uses, see Survival Skill.
Survival skills are basic ideas and abilities that ancient people invented and passed down for thousands of years.[1] Today, survival skills are often associated with surviving in a disaster situation.[2]
Outdoor activities such as hiking, backpacking, horseback riding, fishing, and hunting all require basic wilderness survival skills, especially to handle emergencies. Individuals who practice survival skills as a type of outdoor recreation or hobby may describe themselves as survivalists. Survival skills are often used by people living off-grid lifestyles such as homesteaders. Bushcraft and primitive living are most often self-implemented but require many of the same skills. There are also many instances of survival skills being used to avoid attention from legitimate authorities or self-serving busybodies such as fugitives (from oppression or justice), irregular migrants, draft dodgers and draft evaders, poachers, escaped prisoners, serial killers, organized criminals and terrorists, by hiding in wilderness areas.[3][4] Additionally, both park rangers and conservation officers are taught survival skills to help them find missing persons, and in case they become stranded while investigating wilderness crimes.[5][6] The United States Armed Forces has a training program called SERE, in which military personnel, Department of Defense civilians, intelligence personnel, and private military contractors are taught survival skills and techniques for evading capture and escaping from captivity if they need to survive and hideout in wilderness areas while avoiding capture by enemy combatants.
First aid (wilderness first aid in particular) can help a person survive and function with injuries and illnesses that would otherwise kill or compromise them. Common and dangerous injuries include:
The person may need to apply the contents of a first aid kit or, if possessing the required knowledge, naturally occurring medicinal plants, immobilize injured limbs, or even transport incapacitated comrades.
Many people who are forced into survival situations often have an elevated risk of danger because of direct exposure to the elements. Many people in survival situations die of hypothermia or hyperthermia, or animal attacks. An effective shelter can range from a natural shelter, such as a cave, overhanging rock outcrop, or a fallen-down tree, to an intermediate form of man-made shelter such as a debris hut, tree pit shelter, or snow cave, to a completely man-made structure such as a tarp, tent, or a longhouse. It is noted that some common properties between these structures are:
Fire[edit]
Fire is a tool that helps meet many survival needs. A campfire can be used to boil water, rendering it safe to drink, and to cook food. Fire also creates a sense of safety and protection, which can provide an overlooked psychological boost.[7] When temperatures are low, fire can postpone or prevent the risk of hypothermia. In a wilderness survival situation, fire can provide a sense of home in addition to being an essential energy source.[8] Fire may deter wild animals from interfering with an individual, though some wild animals may also be attracted to the light and heat of a fire.
There are numerous methods for starting a fire in a survival situation. Fires are either started with the case of the solar spark lighter, or through a spark, as in the case of a flint striker. Fires will often be extinguished if either there is excessive wind, or if the fuel or environment is too wet. Lighting a fire without a lighter or matches, e.g. by using natural flint and metal with tinder, is a frequent subject of both books on survival and in survival courses, because it allows an individual to start a fire with few materials in the event of a disaster. There is an emphasis placed on practicing fire-making skills before venturing into the wilderness.[8] Producing fire under adverse conditions has been made much easier by the introduction of tools such as the magnesium striker, solar spark lighter, and the fire piston.
Food[edit]
Culinary root tubers, fruit, edible mushrooms, edible nuts, edible beans, edible cereals or edible leaves, edible cacti, ants and algae can be gathered and, if needed, prepared (mostly by boiling). With the exception of leaves, these foods are relatively high in calories, providing some energy to the body. Plants are some of the easiest food sources to find in the jungle, forest, or desert because they are stationary and can thus be obtained without exerting much effort.[23] Animal trapping, hunting, and fishing allow a survivalist to acquire high-calorie meat but require certain skills and equipment (such as bows, snares, and nets).
Focusing on survival until rescued, the Boy Scouts of America especially discourages foraging for wild foods on the grounds that the knowledge and skills needed to make a safe decision are unlikely to be possessed by those finding themselves in a wilderness survival situation.
When going on a hike or trip in an unfamiliar location, search and rescue advises to notify a trusted contact of your destination, your planned return time, and then notify them when returning.[24] In the event you do not return in the specified time frame, (e.g. 12 hours of the scheduled return time), your contact can contact the police for search and rescue.
Survival situations can often be resolved by finding a way to safety, or a more suitable location to wait for rescue. Types of navigation include:
Mental preparedness[edit]
Mental clarity and preparedness are critical to survival. The will to live in a life-and-death situation often separates those that live and those that do not. Even well-trained survival experts may be mentally affected in disaster situations. It is critical to be calm and focused during a disaster.
To the extent that stress results from testing human limits, the benefits of learning to function under stress and determining those limits may outweigh the downside of stress.[25] There are certain strategies and mental tools that can help people cope better in a survival situation, including focusing on manageable tasks, having a Plan B available, and recognizing denial.[26]
Urban survival[edit]
Earthquake[edit]
Governments such as the United States[27] and New Zealand[28] advise that in an earthquake, one should "Drop, Cover, and Hold."
New Zealand Civil Defense explains it this way:[29]
The United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)[27] adds that in the event of a building collapse, it is advised that you:
Controversial survival skills[edit]
Some survival books promote the "Universal Edibility Test."[30] Allegedly, it is possible to distinguish edible foods from toxic ones by exposing your skin and mouth to progressively greater amounts of the food in question, with waiting periods and checks for symptoms between these exposures.[31] However, many experts reject this method, stating that even a small amount of some "potential foods" can cause physical discomfort, illness, or even death.[32]
Many mainstream survival experts have recommended the act of drinking urine in times of dehydration and malnutrition.[33] However, the U.S. Army Survival Field Manual (FM 21–76) instructs that this technique is a myth and should never be used.[34] There are several reasons to avoid drinking urine, including the high salt content of urine, potential contaminants, and the risk of bacterial exposure, despite urine often being touted as "sterile."[35]
Many classic western movies, classic survival books, and even some school textbooks suggest that using your mouth to suck the venom out of a venomous snake bite is an appropriate treatment. However, venom that has entered the bloodstream cannot be sucked out, and it may be dangerous for a rescuer to attempt to do so. Similarly, some survivalists promote the belief that when bitten by a venomous snake, drinking your urine provides natural anti-venom. Effective snakebite treatment involves pressure bandages and prompt medical treatment, and may require antivenom.[36]