Jungles are home to a huge variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts and spices, which makes it surprising how likely you are to die when lost in one. The problem comes with finding things to eat amongst the thick tree cover, whilst constantly battling mosquitoes and the risk of infection. Here’s a list of some of the best true survival stories of people getting lost in the jungle.
Juliane Koepcke – 11 Days lost in the Peruvian Jungle
When she was 17, Juliane Koepcke was on a flight with her mother on their way to the city of Pucallpa. When their plane was cruising at an altitude of 10,000 feet, a storm hit and it was struck by lighting. The plane began to fall apart on its decent down to earth and split into several pieces.
Amazingly Juliana managed to survive the 10,000 foot drop and the only serious injury she sustained was a deep cut in her arm. For the next 11 days she trekked through the jungle trying to find someone to help, and all the while having to deal with a seriously bad infection that had developed from one of her cuts. Before rescue finally found her, she came across a small shack that had some gasoline inside, after pouring some on her infected wound she watched as 35 maggots crawled out her arm.
Juliane Koepcke – The Full Survival Story
This group of 27 men were supposed to find a possible route to build the Panama canal, and set off into the jungle with the hopes of discovering a pathway for it. The group knew they would be in the trees for potentially several weeks, but for some unknown reason they only brought enough food to last them for 10 days.
It goes without saying that if you walk for 10 days into a jungle before you run out of food then you’re in trouble. The group started to break apart and some turned back, while others pressed forward. Members of the group began to drop one by one until only a handful were left. After starvation, disease and accidents only a fraction of the original 27 survived.
The Darien expedition of 1854 – The Full Survival Story
Yossi Ghinsberg – 3 weeks alone in the jungle
Yossi Ghinsberg sounds like a bit of a wild character, as he was back packing across south America by himself when he decided that teaming up with some strangers to go into the jungle to find some gold seemed like a good idea.
The group of 4 tried to reach an isolated village were they would begin their trip, but the first attempt failed after food ran out and they had to eat monkey meat.
The second attempt saw 2 members of the group split off, and Yossi was left alone with his new friend Gale. The pair started to head down river towards where they heard the gold was, but ended up getting sucked over a waterfall and separated.
After 3 weeks of near death experiences and eating next to nothing, Yossi was eventually found by some locals that his friend Gale had hired to go and rescue him.
Yossi Ghinsberg – The Full Survival Story
The survivors of the Gremlin Special – Stranded in Cannibal territory
Towards the end of the second world war, a group of military personnel took a plane named the Gremlin special on a sight seeing flight over the Shangri-La Valley in New Guinea. During the pass through the valley the plane ran into thick mist and ended up crashing into the side of a hill, killing 19 out of the 24 people on board.
The survivors managed to gather some supplies from the wreck and waited for rescue, but the stories they heard of the cannibal tribes that lived in the valley didn’t help them feel very secure.
The survivors of the Gremlin Special –The Full Survival Story
Marina Chapman – Raised by Monkeys
Both an amazing and really sad story at the same time, Marina had a hard life to say the least right from the beginning. The thing that makes her story so incredible is that when she was 5 years old, some people kidnapped her from her village and for some reason, dumped her in a jungle.
A chances of a 5 year old surviving in the jungle alone is as close to impossible as you can get, but after seeing a group of monkeys in the trees, she began to follow them. She ate what they ate and drank from the same waters until eventually, the monkeys began to trust her and took her in as their own. She lived for several years with the monkeys and learnt how to survive as one of them.
Marina Chapman –The Full Survival Story
Shannon Leah Fraser – 16 days in a Queensland Jungle
This story is an excellent example of what not to do when you’re next to a jungle, and that’s storm off into it during a tantrum. Shannon was visiting a national park and after an argument with her boyfriend, she stormed off into the trees with nothing more than the clothes she was wearing.
After getting lost with nothing more than a pair of leggings and a thin top, Shannon quickly found herself in a survival situation, facing starvation and trying to avoid crocodiles. She had to survive for 16 days with nothing more than she could find, and after walking through the thick vegetation she also had her clothes ripped to pieces and had to survive most of her ordeal naked.
Shannon Leah Fraser –The Full Survival Story
Amanda Eller – 17 days in a Maui Jungle
If you’re going to take a nice leisurely stroll in the jungle, don’t leave your phone in the car and then walk off the trails, as that’s exactly how Amanda Eller became stuck in a Maui jungle for 17 days.
Even though this jungle isn’t one of the largest out there, moving through such thick vegetation can be extremely disorientating and slow progress. After realising that she had no idea which direction to walk in, she found an old abandoned boar den which she crawled inside to avoid the rain, sleeping there for several nights and hoping someone would find her.
Amanda Eller –The Full Survival Story
Andrew Gaskell – Two weeks lost in the Malaysian mountains
Getting lost in such a huge wilderness area as the Gunung Mulu national park in Malaysia is never a good thing, but its even worse when you get yourself lost on purpose. Andrew Gaskell had his reasons for wanting to be alone, but this is no excuse to put your life in danger, and after coming close to death Andrew seemed to finally realise how stupid his decisions were.
After getting back to safety he posted a message apologising to all the people he had worried and the rescuers who spent so much time looking for him in a situation that could have been completely avoided.
Andrew Gaskell – The Full Survival Story