The Dangers You May Encounter
Animals to Say Away From
Common Animals to Stay Away From
Animals as not as threatening to the survivor as the rest of the environment. Common sense tells the survivor to avoid encounters with lions, bears, and other large or dangerous animals. You should also avoid large grazing animals with horns, hooves, and great weight. Your actions may prevent unexpected meetings. Do not attract large predators by leaving food lying around your camp. Carefully survey the scene before entering water or forests. Smaller animals actually present more of a threat to the survivor than large animals. To compensate for their size, nature has given many small animals weapons such as fangs and stingers to defend themselves. Do not let curiosity and carelessness kill or injure you.
Insects and Arachnids
You recognize and identify insect, except centipedes and millipedes, by their six legs while arachnids have eight. All these smaller creatures become pests when they bite, sting, or irritate you. Although their venom can be quite painful, bee, wasp, or hornet stings rarely kill a survivor unless he is allergic to that particular toxin. Even the most dangerous spiders rarely kill, and the effects of tick-borne diseases are very slow-acting. However, in all cases, avoidance is the best defense. In environments known to have spiders and scorpions, check your footgear and clothing every morning. Also check your shelter for any of them. Use precaution when turning over rocks and logs.
Saltwater Dangers
These are several fish that you should not handle, touch, or contact. There are others that you should not handle. Sharks are the most feared animal in the sea, and usually, a shark attack cannot be avoided. Rabbitfish occur mainly on coral reefs in the Indian and Pacific oceans. They have very sharp, possibly venomous spines in their fins. Tang average 20 to 25 centimeters in length and often are beautifully colored. Another problem, besides sea animal attacks, are the worries of what fish are poisonous or not. Many fish living in reefs near shore, or in lagoons or estuaries, are poisonous to eat, though some are only seasonally dangerous. The most poisonous types appear to have parrotlike beaks and hard shell-like skins with spines and often can inflate their bodies like balloons. However, at certain times of the year, indigenous popuilations consider the puffer a delicacy.