“If all insects on Earth disappeared, within 50 years all life on Earth would end. If all human beings disappeared from the Earth, within 50 years all forms of life would flourish” (Jonas Salk)
I watched an episode of “Naked and Afraid” recently as it was set in Peninsular Malaysia and I wanted to see how the contestants got on – the title of the programme was something like “Pain in the forest” which seemed to reflect the vicarious delight we were meant to take in watching these would-be survivors endure 21 days of suffering from the comfort of our armchairs.
A large part of the problem they faced was due to insects – bites from mosquitos, leeches, and sand flies plagued them almost immediately and the discomfort was something that was clearly demoralising (although, to their credit, they took it all with stoic good humour) Obviously being naked doesn’t help in such situation but what really struck me was why had they chosen to set up camp for three weeks in area where such bloodsuckers flourish?
They were dropped off on the shore of a lake somewhere and set up camp more-or-less at the tree-line itself. This was exposed secondary jungle where bamboo, tall grasses and other sun-hungry plants thrive. It was also marshy and damp. However just up the hill from the shoreline was nice primary forest – tall trees and canopy – where there are less blood suckers, more protection from the elements, where it’s not marshy and there’s less nasty undergrowth to hack through.
To be fair to the contestants they may have been told to camp in a certain spot: perhaps chosen to make life harder than necessary (and thus more entertaining for us?) or perhaps for logistical filming reasons (i.e. easy for the camera crew to get in and out).
Putting aside the risk of disease for a moment, the simple irritation and discomfort caused by getting multiple insect bites is enough to test anyone’s patience and can turn you from someone who is calmly making good, rational decisions into someone so distracted and miserable that only the thought of escaping the insects dominates your thoughts.
On a number of trips I’ve seen people laid low by insect bites, reaching the point where they simply can’t take it anymore and just want to get out of the jungle asap and never come back….and I understand this, insects can be unbelievably persistent, show no mercy and will just keep biting you until you can’t take it anymore.
So I wanted to give some basic tips on how to minimise the problem with insects and how to avoid getting too many bites (one or two bites are just part of the experience!) and a key aspect here is awareness: being aware of your surroundings can, in itself, make a huge difference.
For example, just 50 yards from my house is an area where the mosquitoes are so bad that within moments there will be at least 10 of them buzzing you and they’ll bite any exposed skin within seconds. Whenever I go there I cover up as much as I can and still I get a bite or two….it’s almost unbearable to stay there for more than a few minutes. The reason there are so many mosquitos there is the proximity to a bamboo grove where water trapped in dead bamboo provides a fertile brewing ground.
…and yet, we rarely get mosquitoes in, or next to, the house. A difference of just 50 yards can make a big difference!
There is a saying that “If you want to get rid of mosquitos, drain the swamp that breeds them”. For the jungle trekker the corollary would be “If you want to avoid mosquito bites, don’t camp by a swamp”.
Mosquitos breed in stagnant water but this isn’t only limited to marshes and pools, they can also breed in water trapped in fallen logs, dead bamboo, even in water trapped in banana and palm tree fronds. In a healthy, primary forest you get less of them (often none at all) – not only because the conditions aren’t ideal for them to breed but also because there are other creatures that prey on them (bats, other insects, birds).
Similarly leeches need damp conditions to function – in dry, well drained parts of the forest leeches aren’t a big problem; in areas where it’s damp they are. During the dry season leeches will dig down into the mud and patiently wait for the rains.
The other thing to realise about bloodsucking insects is that they need to feed – you won’t find leeches/ticks/mosquitos in areas where there are no animals for them to feed upon – and the presence of leeches is an indicator of the amount of wildlife in a forest (a good thing!). So, if you want to avoid a tick bite, don’t stand near a wild boar nest or anywhere where they’ve been digging around as wild boar are absolutely covered in ticks.
I’ve talked about most of these insects in detail in earlier videos but in this video I wanted to try and sum up some general advice on the main insects that people seem to have a problem with: from the infamous ones that a lot of people fear (scorpions, centipedes, giant ants, spiders) that are really not an issue as long as you leave them alone (and walk around with your eyes open!), to those that are potentially lethal (bees and wasps), to those that are after your blood (mosquitos, leeches, ticks and sandflies).
1. Choose you camp site carefully: if it turns you chose badly and the site becomes infested with biting insects – move!
2. Cover-up: have a set of dry clothes for the evening that cover your skin and don’t leave ankles/wrists etc exposed. You could spray yourself with lots of DEET or other repellants but if you’re well covered up this is rarely necessary and the problem with repellents is that if they aren’t spread over all your exposed skin the sneaky mosquitos will quickly find that small, untreated area and bite you there.
3. Get off the ground: this will protect you both from leeches and also from an unwanted visit from a scorpion, ant or centipede. Hammocks are the way to go.
4. Get a fire going: Smoke keeps a lot of the bugs away and the trick here is to produce a smokey fire. To get your fire to smoke throw on some green leaves or green wood.
5. Turn off the light: don’t leave a torch/nightlight on through the night as you’ll get all sorts of bugs coming along to check it out – not necessarily the biting kind, but they can be irritating.
6. Be tolerant: A few bites are inevitable in the jungle and you just need to suck it up, the important thing is not to scratch those bites you get as this will only make things worse. Similarly try to avoid getting bites on your feet (use leech socks) as bites on your feet can get rubbed by your boots which exacerbates the problem – a leech bite elsewhere on your body is not such a big issue as long you don’t scratch it.
7. Treat the jungle with respect: try to cut as little as possible, step carefully and try to minimise the disturbance your path through the jungle is making and you’ll dramatically reduce the number of bites you get from insects offended by your foray into their homeland.
“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places” (Roald Dahl)
I remember the first snake I ever saw in Malaysia; I was standing about 5 feet away from it and the guide was pointing it out to me…
“There! There!” and I could tell my guide was getting increasingly frustrated by apparent blindness to spot the thing that was right in from of me.
The main reason I couldn’t see the snake was not it’s beautiful camouflage but rather that I was looking for the wrong thing. Having been brought on Hollywood films, my eyes were searching for a large and fearsome snake, rearing up from the undergrowth – not the tiny, slender little thing that hung, utterly motionless, like a piece of discarded string draped over a small branch.
It was a small pit viper and, unlike other more accommodating snakes (cobras and the like) they are stubborn little creatures; ambush hunters who lie in wait and refuse to get out of your way as you blunder through the jungle.
This morning I went out to free the geese and almost immediately spotted the snake that lay coiled in my path and it made me realise that I have become much better at spotting snakes than I used to be. What had changed? The first thing that’s changed is the pattern recognition going on in my brain – I know what to look for simply because I’ve seen it before. The other thing that has changed is that I have become accustomed to looking carefully before stepping forward – I try not to step on anything as I don’t like killing animals unnecessarily – even ants! But this closet-buddhist sentimentality has the upside that I’ve now become very aware of what’s going on at the jungle floor beneath me…
So here’s an odd tip for jungle trekking – try not to step on insects in your path, it may save you from a snake bite one day!
When I was a child I decided that the bridge over a small stream was far too easy an option and decided to use a tree branch instead. The branch was the same diameter as I was, but unfortunately it was rotten and promptly snapped, sending me falling about 15 feet onto the stony river bed bellow. My older sister discovered me moments later lying on my back yelling “I’m dead! I’m dead!” which I very clearly and vocally wasn’t.
Perhaps not an auspicious start to river crossings and I’ve had my fair share of tumbles and soakings since.
Because of the nature of jungle trekking there are almost always rivers to be crossed and they can be potentially very hazardous to the unwary. A few weeks back I was on overnight camping trip with a group of friends. On the way out we had to cross a small river and there were boulders to use as stepping stones – unfortunately one of the group slipped and fell forwards, smacking her head on a boulder as she fell – as we all turned to help we saw her lying face down and motionless in the river… we lifted her up and luckily she was just a bit stunned and okay apart from a golf-ball sized bruise on her forehead. But it could easily have been much worse and the incident reminded me of the dangers that crossing even small rivers and streams can pose.
In this video I cover some of the lessons that I have learnt (the hard way!). If there is a simple golden rule to river crossings it is to take your time and heed your instincts that warn you when you are about do something stupid or badly thought out….“Cross in haste, repent underwater!”
The other danger that rivers pose in the jungle is due to the speed with which they can rise. In the photo below you can seem me recrossing a river in my Land Rover. I’d crossed the same river just the day before and it had only been axle deep….on the way back it was coming in through the windows.
And let be honest here, I’d read about rivers in the jungle rising fast but for some reason never really believed it until it happened to me. A few years ago I was camping about 15 feet up the slope from a dried out river bed….my friends were camped on the other side. It had started to drizzle and I retired to my hammock for an afternoon nap with my ipod. About an hour later I vaguely became aware of distant shouts and looked up to find that the river had risen so far that it was only a couple of feet from my hammock. I managed to cross what was now a swirling torrent of muddy river to the other side thanks to a fallen tree, but only 20 minutes later the same crossing had become impossible.
What was deceptive about both of the above incidents was that the rain fall where we were camping was just a light drizzle….but, of course, what caused the river to rise was the heavy rain that must have been falling further upstream.
The other danger posed by rivers comes in the form of waterfalls: clearly it is not a good idea cross a river near to waterfall if there is a risk of being swept over but it can also be risky to camp near to a waterfall as well….if you want to see what I mean by this last point then watch this Youtube video which is enough to make anyone think twice before setting up camp beneath a waterfall.
“To be stupid, selfish and have good health are the three requirements for happiness….though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost” (Flaubert)
I came across this video link the other day about the plight of the rain forest in Sarawak…it is a shocking expose but, perhaps, not that a big a surprise to those familiar with rain forest politics. The video speaks for itself and you can draw your own conclusions, but I would encourage anyone interested in the rain forest to watch it.
It is ironic that we humans believe we can both over exploit the world’s natural resources (leaving little for future generations) whilst at the same time over populating the world… I honestly don’t get it.
There does, however, seem to be a growing realization that this state of affairs can only end badly and, although the solution to these problems is complex and will take time, I hope that our human ingenuity will find a way.
However, the speed at which these natural resources are disappearing is so fast that by the time we come up with a solution there may be nothing left to save.
Anyone who has been on a survival course will be familiar with the S.T.O.P rule – that if you find yourself lost in the forest then you should STOP – THINK – OBSERVE – PLAN rather than blindly rushing onwards in the hope of stumbling across a way out of the jungle. Maybe mankind needs to take the same approach to the problems we face with over population and our environment? To take a pause, turn off the chain saws, and re-evaluate before it’s too late.
I originally contacted Dr Khaldun back in June with the idea of doing a short video on venomous snakes in Malaysia from the perspective of a jungle trekker. Five videos and six months later and we’ve covered the (basics) of this fascinating subject.
Was this excessive? Too many videos? Too much information? All I can say is that in the 7 years I have been living in the jungle I have come into contact with more venomous snakes than any other potentially live threatening hazard in the jungle – on average I end up close (within a few feet) to a venomous snake about once every two months, sometimes more.
Knowing how to protect yourself from getting bitten (common sense and appropriate footwear/gloves) and an understanding of the behaviour of these snakes will probably be sufficient to keep you out of harm’s way….but accidents happen and in these two videos we cover that eventuality. In the first video Dr Khaldun explains the effects of the venom on the human body and, in the second, the basic first-aid procedures that can be applied.
Please note: in Australia washing a snake bite wound is not recommended as the hospitals have venom identification kits and don’t want you to wash off the venom present on the skin so that they can test it. This test kit is not for identifying venomous snakes native to Malaysia so they are not used over here and, as such, you can wash the wound with clean water before bandaging it up.
I like it when things are simple but, talking to Dr Khadun, I began to realise that this subject is anything but. To say that the cobras, kraits and coral snakes are ‘neurotoxic” and the vipers are ‘haemotoxic’ is a simplification as the venom components are more complex than that. To guesstimate how long you have (after getting bitten) before life-threatening symptoms appear is just that – a guesstimate – there are many variables at work: was it a dry bite? how much venom was injected?; the physical state of the victim; the site of the bite; does the victim panic or not? etc etc.
Hopefully these videos keep it as simple as possible and will give you some idea of what to expect (and what to do) in the event that you, or a companion, get bitten by a venomous snake. I think it is knowledge that every jungle trekker should have as it would be awful to find yourself in a scenario where you had the possibility to save your friend’s life but couldn’t simply because you didn’t know what to do.
Finally I would just like to thank Dr Khaldun for all the time he put into (very patiently!) explaining to a layman like myself the basics of this complex subject.
Risk assessment is something we do every day and involves two steps: 1) what is the magnitude of the problem should the risk be realised (e.g. “if there’s a zombie apocalypse I could be eaten alive”) and 2) estimating the likelihood of that event happening (in the case of zombie apocalypse this is zero).
But there is a third element that people often forget and that is assessing the risk to yourself should you not do something because of fear of associated risk.
because, if you stay at home and become a couch potato, you may well end up unhappy and overweight and drop dead early from a heart attack.
With the venomous snakes of Malaysia the ones that strike most fear into the average jungle trekker are the cobras and, should you be unlucky enough to be fully envenomated by a King Cobra there’s a strong possibility that you won’t live to tell the tale. However the likelihood of being bitten by a King Cobra is extremely low in the first place so (for me at least) it is an acceptable risk.
Vipers are a different story for the jungle trekker as 1) the risk of being bitten by a viper is higher, but 2) the chances of you surviving the bite are much greater (vs being bitten by a neurotoxic snake).
Why are jungle trekkers more likely to be bitten by vipers? Simply because they are much more difficult to see. Vipers are ambush hunters and tend to wait, motionless, either perched on low hanging branches (in the case of the arboreal vipers) or hiding in logs/leave litter (in the case of the terrestrial vipers). Whereas the cobras will, very thoughtfully, let you know if you get too close and do their best to get out of your way, the vipers show no such consideration and, like surly teenagers, will refuse to budge as you approach but, should you get too close and invade their ‘personal space’ they will suddenly lash out…
The venom from a viper causes: 1) immediate pain followed by swelling and necrosis (tissue death) at the site of the bite and 2) disruption of the blood clotting system. A viper bite is a serious matter as complications can be fatal – for example, by products from the the destruction of the muscles and blood cells may damage the kidneys and internal bleeding may occur (e.g. from the brain)… but, with correct first aid procedures and a speedy transition to hospital, the victim’s chances of survival are good.
But let me give you a real life example of this. Last week I went down to KL to meet up with a guy called Herman who is fellow jungle trekker and outdoors enthusiast. In September this year he was unfortunate enough to be bitten by a green pit viper and, as we sat having coffee he showed me where he was bitten – or rather he didn’t, as the top of his thumb had been amputated at the site of the bite.
“It was a Saturday and I was on a trek, hiking to a peak called Batu Lapan Belas near to Broga using compass and map. I was the sweeper with my four friends in front and none of us saw the snake that bit me although they must have all passed next to it too. It was about 3pm and we were cutting a trail through some secondary forest, lots of bamboo, and I guess the snake was hanging on a low branch next to the path. I was about to put my parang back in its sheath when I suddenly felt the bite on my hand – instinctively I flung out my hand, dropping the parang, and I noticed blood on my thumb. On the ground next to me I saw the snake – it was only a foot long; a juvenile green viper. We killed the snake so as to be able to identify it later”
[A quick note here: killing a venomous snake that has bitten you is not the best course of action as you risk getting bitten again in the process. A much better idea is to take a photo with your phone/camera and take that along to the hospital]
“Almost immediately I started to feel pain but at this time it was still bearable. The summit was only another 50 m ahead and we decided to keep going. Looking back this was a mistake and we should have immediately started to descend. We reached the summit at about 3.30pm and then started to return to where we’d parked the car. By now the pain was getting worse and beginning to throb – I couldn’t grip anything with that hand and descending was very difficult.
We reached the carpark at 7.30 pm and my friends drove me to hospital. On the way to hospital I started to develop a fever and by the time we reached the hospital (at 9pm) I was feeling really bad. They kept me in hospital overnight – by then my thumb had gone black and the joints near to the bite were beginning to ache as well. On the Monday they decided that the best thing was to perform surgery to remove the dead cells (necrosis) at the site of the bite and they cut off the top of my thumb. They also cut open my hand to check the spread of the necrosis.
I was in hospital for ten days in total but the pain lasted for about two months and even now it’s still very sensitive”
Listening to Herman’s account it struck me that, although a viper bite may not be fatal, it is still something to be avoided if at all possible. For the jungle trekker this means being alert to your surroundings: not blindly reaching out for handholds or wildly slashing with your parang.