25. If you run out of food, you must go find some immediately — Wrong!
Your body can actually survive for a while relying on its own fat reserves. In reality, you're far more likely to die from poisoning, injury, or illness in the wild than from starvation.
24. Just find two pieces of wood and you can start a fire by friction — Wrong!
Starting a fire by friction is basically impossible. Even if you have super-strong arms, the best method is to bring a box of windproof matches...
23. Watching wilderness survival adventure shows can serve as a reference for real survival in the wild — Wrong!
Wilderness survival shows are ultimately just shows, with scripts all written out in advance. You can learn some methods, but never think that watching a few episodes makes you an expert. Nature will only show you that you're still too young.
22. If bitten by a venomous snake, you should have someone suck the venom out — Wrong!
Clinical studies have shown that sucking the wound can more easily damage surrounding tissues, and things like ice or tourniquets can only worsen the injury. The best approach is to gently wrap the area with a handkerchief and then go to the hospital.
Also, a dead rattlesnake can still bite. A rattlesnake can strike and inject venom even up to an hour after death.
21. You can run faster than a bear — Wrong!
Don’t try to outrun a bear when you encounter one. Even Usain Bolt can’t outrun a bear… Don’t be fooled by how clumsy they may seem.
20. Playing dead can save your life when encountering a bear — Wrong!
Not all milk is called Telunsu, and not all bears require you to play dead. If you encounter a North American grizzly bear, you can try playing dead by lying on the ground and protecting your vital organs. But if it’s a black bear, you’re better off standing your ground, appearing strong, flapping your jacket around to appear larger, and bluffing. But never make eye contact with the bear.
19. The best way to prevent a shark attack is to hit its nose — Wrong!
Never mind whether hitting the nose works or not — you should know how incredibly hard it is to actually strike a shark’s nose during an attack. It’s basically like handing your hand to its mouth. So aiming for the gills or eyes is much easier.
18. If you run out of water in the desert, you must find a water source immediately. Wrong!
The best approach is to find shade during the day, avoid sweating, and wait until night when it cools down before setting out to look for water. Some people insist on searching for water under the scorching sun and die of thirst within four hours, but those who avoid sweating and move slowly can survive for about two days.
17. If you're thirsty, you can drink urine to quench your thirst... Wrong!
First of all, you can drink urine at most once, and it’s a double challenge to both your body and mind. Also, drinking warm urine in the hot desert speeds up water loss. The better use for urine is to use it with a handkerchief to wipe your body — it can help cool you down...
16. If you’re thirsty, you can eat a cactus to relieve thirst. Wrong!
Like drinking urine, eating a cactus can injure you and may even cause poisoning. Only a type called the “barrel cactus” can be used to quench thirst — specifically, the fishhook barrel cactus. So you’d have to be a real cactus expert to correctly identify this kind, otherwise the risk of poisoning is quite high.
15. Short trips don’t require much preparation. Wrong!
No matter how short the journey, it’s best to make proper preparations.
14. No matter where you get into trouble, a helicopter will be able to rescue me. Wrong!
In many places, especially mountainous areas, helicopters simply cannot perform rescues.
13. Boiled water is definitely 100% clean. Wrong!
Boiling water only kills bacteria, but it doesn’t remove dust and dirt. So it’s best to first filter the water roughly using cloth, then boil the filtered water.
12. Eating snow is a good way to replenish fluids. Wrong!
Eating snow uses up your body’s heat to melt it. It’s better to melt the snow into water first before drinking.
11. Putting a roof over your head makes a good shelter, wrong!
Many people think that the most important thing in the wild is to set up a roof to keep out wind and rain, but reliable experts will tell you that you should be more worried about your bed. It’s more important to have something warm to sleep on than to worry about the roof!
10. If you’re pierced by something, it’s best to pull it out, wrong!
We’ve all seen enough historical dramas to know — if you’re shot with an arrow, don’t pull it out. Removing it will make bleeding worse, so it’s better to protect the wound and wait for help!
9. If you’re bleeding, just use a tourniquet, wrong!
Sure, a tourniquet can be quite useful, but there are extreme situations where it doesn’t apply — for example, if your hand gets cut off... But once you use a tourniquet, don’t remove it lightly.
8. When an earthquake happens, you should stand in the doorway, wrong!
Of course, we’ve all learned a lot about earthquakes, but this idea? Just take it as a joke.
7. Eating plants is safe, wrong!
Unless you were really good at nature studies in elementary school and can easily tell which plants are poisonous, don’t try them lightly. Even if the plants you find aren’t toxic, they might not have any nutritional value — eating them won’t help...
6. Moss only grows on the north side of trees, wrong!
That’s definitely wrong. In the northern hemisphere, moss often grows better on the north side, but that’s mainly because it tends to grow in shaded areas.
5. Drinking alcohol can keep you warm, wrong!
Drinking alcohol might make you feel warm, but it actually lowers your body temperature.
4. If you’re cold in a valley, just head for higher ground, wrong!
Although it’s true that an inversion layer and warm air rising can make valleys a few degrees warmer than the slopes at the valley bottom, moving to higher ground is not a good idea. Remember the factor that higher places are colder, and the risk of wildfires is even greater there!
3. If you leave the riverbank, always remember to swim back to shore — wrong!
Although all rivers flow to the sea, there are other shores along the way. Don’t rush back to shore if you fall into the water. Ensuring your own safety is the most important thing.
2. Always worry that unexpected weather will strike — wrong!
We don’t often encounter extreme survival situations unless we’ve made some very impulsive decisions, so sometimes there’s no need to worry too much.
1. Wilderness survival is about remembering those dogmatic rules that tell you what to do — wrong!
What’s more important is to stay calm at all times, use your physical strength wisely, and then find a suitable path for the current environment by combining available methods.
After all this talk, wilderness survival sounds really exhausting, so maybe it’s better to just watch reality shows when we have nothing to do…