Medium term survival

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Survival Skills are techniques usually used by people to survive a dangerous unanticipated situation. Many of these skills require survival training although by carrying a few small items we can greatly improve our chances of survival (Such as a survival kit)

Bruce Zawalsky Chief Instructor of the Boreal Wilderness Institute differentiates survival situations by there duration.

Short Term Survival 1-4 Days

Medium Term Survival 4-40 Days

Long Term Survival Longer than 40 Days

In a survival situation your needs are prioritized in the following order:

Building a shelter,

Starting a fire,

Finding and purifying water

Finding food,

To learn about Survival techniques in different environments see below:

Desert Mountain Arctic Jungle Sea

Other survival skills

Several other skills are often referenced as being desirable or necessary.

These include proficiency with:

firearms,

climbing and mountaineering techniques,

making rope from readily available material,

making rafts or boats,

knottying,

knife usage,

basic toolmaking.

Of these, familiarity with the use of a knife is usually paramount as the knife may be used to build shelter, process material for fire-building, create wood tools, and for defense.

First aid

First aid (wilderness first aid in particular) can help a person survive and function with injuries and illnesses that would otherwise kill or incapacitate him/her. Common and dangerous injuries include:

Lacerations, which may become infected
Bites or stings from venomous Snakes,
Bites leading to disease/septicemia, mosquitoes, ticks: Lyme's disease, Rabies
Infection through food, animal contact, or drinking non-potable water
Bone fractures
Sprains and strains
Burns: Friction blisters and from fire
Poisoning from consumption of, or contact with, poisonous plants or poisonous fungi.
Hypothermia (too cold) and hyperthermia (too hot)

The survivor may need to apply the contents of a first aid kit or, if possessing the required knowledge, naturally-occurring medicinal plants, immobilize injured limbs, or even transport incapacitated comrades.

Navigation

Survival situations are sometimes resolved by finding one's way to safety, or one may need to move to find a more suitable location to wait for rescue. The sources observe that to do either of these safely requires some navigation equipment and skills. Types of navigation include:

Celestial navigation, using the sun and the night sky
Using a map and compass
Navigating using the land
Using a GPS

Survival Guides

A survival manual is a book used as reference in situations where a human's survival is threatened - expected or unexpected. Typically it will cover both preparation and guidance for dealing with eventualities.

There are many different types of survival manuals, but most have a section of standard advice. These are sometimes republished for public distribution: for example the SAS Survival Handbook, United States Army Survival Manual (FM 21-76) and United States Air Force Survival Manual (AF 64-4).

Other manuals have been written for more specific uses, such as wilderness or maritime survival.

Much of today's teaching principles on survival are derived from the work of SAS Survival Instructor Lofty Wiseman.