The top 5 dangers in the jungle. The jungle can be a dangerous place. With wild animals and perilous terrain around every corner, a trip to the rainforest is no picnic.
But if you prepare properly for a trip to the jungle, you can survive and even thrive in this challenging environment. With the right mindset and a bit of know-how, you can escape the dangers of the rainforest.
Here’s a list of the five greatest dangers you’re likely to encounter while you’re in the jungle.
1. YOURSELF
The vast majority of the greatest dangers in the jungle are caused not by wild animals or a lack of food, but by human error.
The mistakes you make during your jungle stay can complicate an already-dangerous situation even more, so it’s essential that you keep calm and act rationally at all times to minimise risk.
Let’s say you encounter a wild animal; your first reaction will probably be one of panic and dread. But bumping into a dangerous animal doesn’t necessarily mean you’re in danger. As long as you react in the right way, you should be able to steer yourself out of harm’s way.
The single most important piece of advice we can give you is to remain calm. The worst thing you can do in a potentially dangerous situation, especially in an unpredictable environment like the rainforest, is to panic.
So if you find yourself in a tough spot, keep calm. Take a deep breath and look around to assess the situation logically. If you’ve had any jungle survival training, try to remember what you’ve been taught, and follow each step quickly but carefully.
2. PLANTS
Beyond human error, one of the most common dangers in the Amazon Rainforest and other jungle environments is that of plant life.
Plants can be great sources of food in the jungle – but they also carry risks. During your stay in the rainforest, you might find yourself so eager to find food that you forget to undertake the checks necessary to ensure your safety.
Eating the right plants can give you a much-needed boost of energy. But eating the wrong plants can cause illness or even death, so it is absolutely vital that you proceed with caution. If you’re in any doubt about whether a plant is edible, it’s far better to avoid it.
You should also remember that some plants are dangerous even to touch. You’ll want to avoid species like poison ivy if you want to keep your body in peak condition while you’re in the rainforest.
Wherever possible, it’s a good idea to carry a guide to jungle plants to help you navigate a plant-based meal.
3. WILDLIFE
It’ll come as no surprise that some of the main dangers of the jungle come in animal form. Wild animals live in the Amazon Rainforest, and several of them have the potential to harm humans.
You might think you’re in an impossible situation if you encounter something big and scary in the jungle – but in reality, incidents with wild animals tend to happen more often as a result of human interference.
It should go without saying that you should try to keep yourself away from obvious threats – animals like caimans, anacondas, jaguars. If you keep your distance, they’ll most likely leave you alone, as there are smaller, slower prey that they usually prefer.
Tempting as it might be to get a closer look at a majestic jungle creature, you should keep a safe distance.
4. NAVIGATION
Getting lost in the jungle is one of the most dangerous things that can happen to you – especially if you get lost while trying to find your way back to civilisation.
If you find yourself lost in the rainforest, it’s essential that you make a plan and stick to it. The absolute last thing you’ll want is to find yourself walking around in circles while you’re low on energy and starting to panic!
Even if you don’t have a compass or you’ve got no idea where you started out, try not to panic. As we’ve said already, keeping calm in the rainforest is one of the most important things you can do in difficult situations.
Plan a route and keep moving. Provided you’re thinking clearly and have some basic navigation skills (like walking in a straight line!), you should be able to find your way out.
5. WATER
The waters of the rainforest are fraught with dangers, and these are multifaceted.
For one thing, you’ll need to make sure you have a supply of drinking water. Drinking unclean water poses enormous risks to your health, so it’s essential that you learn to filter it properly or that you collect it from clean sources (like rainwater or certain plants). Failure to keep hydrated, or failure to drink the right water, can be fatal.
The waters of the jungle are also home to some very dangerous animals. We highly recommend you don’t go for a dip if you want to keep hold of all your limbs!
If you do get wet – and if you’re in the rainforest, you almost certainly will – it’s crucial that you dry off when possible. Trenchfoot and other water-related conditions are common in the jungle, and they can be hugely debilitating. Whenever you get wet, dry yourself when the situation allows it such at river banks and by the fireside.
IT’S ALL ON YOU
By far the biggest challenge you’ll face in the rainforest is your own attitude. You face potential dangers around every corner, but as long as you keep a cool head and make sensible decisions, you have every chance of surviving in one of our planet’s most perilous environments.
If you want to see if you’ve got what it takes to survive in the rainforest, you’ve come to the right place. We at the Wild Tales run adventure trips into the heart of the Guyanese Amazon. We’ll teach you everything you need to know to survive in one of the toughest environments in the world.
Think you can handle it?
Fill in our contact form to find out more information or to book onto one of our Amazon adventures. To find out more about Guyana you can visit the GTA.
