If you are ever placed in a survival situation then you must carefully prioritize your needs. It is widely accepted that for a human to survive they must have access to the following: Warmth, Water, Sleep and Food. The well known author and tracker Tom Brown Suggest that we must find (In this order):
1. Shelter
2. Water
3. Fire
4. Food
Survival skills: are techniques a person may use for an indefinite duration to survive a dangerous situation sometimes also referred to as Bushcraft. In general survival skills are used to provide the basic needs for human life, additional survival skills can be employed to signal for help, navigate back to safety and to avoid unwanted attention from animals and harmful plants. In addition First Aid can be a vital survival skill.
These skills are not only used in survival situations but they are used by many outdoor enthusiasts to enable them to enjoy extended periods of time in remote places, or a way to thrive in nature.
There are 5 main landscapes that may require very different survival skills:
Desert Mountain Arctic Jungle Sea
Every different situation or location is said to present a different range of dangers. Although there is great variation between schools of thought when it comes to survival, For example the boy scouts of America and the US military differ greatly in there concept of prioritizing. Most take the view that; “that the order of priority of survival needs shifts according to the immediate situation
faced.” One widely circulated concept to help set priorities is called the "Rule of Three": Employed mnemonic device, the Rule of Three states:
· Humans cannot survive more than three hours exposed to extreme low-temperature.
· Humans cannot survive more than three days without water.
· Humans cannot survive more than three weeks without food.
The Rule of Three is often otherwise formulated and is viewed by commentators as a rough guide. There will always be exceptional stories when it comes to survive and it only when one is placed in a survival situation is it truly apparent what the human body is capable of enduring. People have survived without food for over twenty-one days.
The Boy Scouts, in addition to listing seven priorities, use a mnemonic device, "STOP", to address the mental aspects of survival. "STOP" stands for"
· Stop
· Think
· Observe
· Plan
