Lost... In the Jungle of Doom (2 page)
Read Lost... In the Jungle of Doom Online
Authors: Tracey Turner
• Vampire bats live in Central and South America.
• They are only a few centimetres long, and weigh as little as 50 grammes.
• The bats drink the blood of large mammals, and occasionally they bite humans. They feed by making a small cut in the skin with their teeth, then lap up the
blood.
• Vampire bats do not usually harm the animals they feed from, but some carry the disease rabies. If you are not vaccinated against rabies and don’t
receive treatment before symptoms start, you have a very slim chance of survival.
• The saliva of vampire bats contains an ingredient that stops blood from clotting. This anticoagulant has been used in human medicine to help patients who
have had strokes.
Click
here
to return to your adventure.
Y
ou look at the forest floor and shudder – it’s alive with crawling things you definitely don’t want to
share a bed with!
You set to work by clearing the ground between two trees, using a stick in case you disturb any snakes. Next you arrange some fallen logs into a platform, and cut lengths of
bamboo with your Swiss Army knife to lay on top of them. You tie a stout bamboo stem between the trees about chest height with liana (long vines that make good rope) – this is your roof
pole. Then you cut more bamboo and lean each stem against the roof pole, tying it with more liana. Finally, you cover it with thick, broad leaves to give you some shelter in case of a downpour.
Once inside you cover yourself in your thin waterproof jacket and close your eyes, trying not to listen to the eerie whoops and shrieks of jungle animals as darkness descends.
Dawn is breaking when a sound wakes you up. You listen intently, peering outside your shelter into the dim light. There it was again! A low, growling sound, and it seems to
be coming from the undergrowth just ahead of you . . .
If you decide to go and investigate the sound, click
here
.
If you decide to stick your head under your coat and hope the noise goes away, click
here
.
To find out more about building a shelter in the rainforest, click
here
.
• Don’t sleep or make shelter . . .
» near large animal trails (for obvious reasons)
» on low ground, especially swampy areas (which might harbour mosquitoes, or be prone to flooding, which is common in the rainforest)
• Clear a space on the ground to make your shelter. Make sure to do this with a stick, and not with your hands, in case there are spiders, snakes or biting
ants.
• Raise your bed off the ground to avoid creepy crawlies on the forest floor.
• Check above you for rotting branches of dead trees that could fall on you in the night, and any animals that might be lurking in the trees.
• If possible, use a mosquito net.
• Bamboo is very useful for shelter building, but clumps can easily spring apart and injure you when you cut them. Bamboo splinters are extremely sharp. Take
care!
Click
here
to return to your adventure.
Y
ou tramp onwards through the forest, with no clear idea of where you’re heading. You push through dangling vines,
some with sharp thorns that tear at your clothes. Looking up, you see a palm-like tree covered with cascades of juicy, delicious-looking purple berries. Your stomach rumbles loudly and you
realise for the first time how hungry you are.
You have no idea whether or not the berries are poisonous but they certainly look tasty . . .
If you decide to eat some of the berries, click
here
.
If you decide not to risk it, click
here
.
Y
ou look towards the spot where you thought you heard the sound. You still can’t see anything. You decide to creep
a bit further forward, taking care to be quiet, but twigs snap and leaves rustle as you move. You part the branches of a low-growing plant, peering into the greenish gloom of the rainforest at
dawn . . .
You think you see a movement. There’s something there! You look more closely at the spot and almost cry out in fear: a pair of yellow eyes is staring straight at you!
You can make out the rest of the animal now – a huge cat, with spotted fur and a long tail. A jaguar. You gulp. The animal snarls, revealing long, pointed teeth. It looks as though
it’s about to pounce!
If you decide to run away, click
here
.
If you decide to stand your ground, click
here
.
T
he bat cave has left you feeling out of breath and slightly sick – you can still smell the horrible lingering
odour. Through a gap between the tree tops you can see the vampire bats like a dark cloud in the sky. The light is failing fast, and under the tree canopy it’s becoming difficult to see.
You suddenly feel very tired, and your legs are beginning to ache after your run to escape the bats. Then the rain starts - it’s so heavy you feel as though you’re standing underneath
a shower.
You spot another cave not far away. By now there’s no time for making a shelter to sleep under. Can you face the possibility of another bat colony? Or maybe something
more dangerous has made this cave its home. Should you forget the cave and find the strength to carry on walking as night falls?
If you decide to risk finding shelter in the new cave, click
here
.
If you decide to keep walking, click
here
.
Y
ou lie very still, with your head underneath your coat and your eyes squeezed shut. You hear the growling again –
it sounds like a big animal! You do your best not to imagine what it looks like, wrap your arms tightly around your body and pray that the creature, whatever it is, will go away.
After a few moments of silence, you hear rustling in the undergrowth. The animal is finally moving away! You let out a long breath of relief. However, you don’t risk
moving for another ten minutes, to be sure the animal is far away.
In the dawn light, the rainforest looks gloomy and you have no way of telling where you are. It occurs to you that you might be better off climbing a tree – maybe that
way you’ll get your bearings. On the other hand, the trees are tall and hard to climb, and you’ll risk falling.
If you decide to walk, click
here
.
If you decide to climb a tree, click
here
.
T
here’s no horrible smell as you approach this cave, and no signs that an animal has been near. Cautiously, you
look inside. It’s creepy and dark, but it doesn’t seem to be inhabited, and it’ll offer some protection from the rain, which is falling fast in fat drops.
You break some leaves off a broad-leafed plant and lay them on the cave floor, placing your waterproof coat on top. You curl up on top of them and, exhausted, drift off to
sleep.
You wake up with a start! Did you just hear something? Was that a low, growling sound? There it was again! The hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. The sound is
terrifying! You stand up, taking care to be quiet, and cautiously step outside the cave to investigate.
Click
here
.
T
he snake must be a constrictor, you realise, looking at its massive body. In your hurry to get away from it you almost
slip and fall from the tree! You realise you’re panicking, and force yourself to breathe and move as slowly as you can. The snake still hasn’t moved. You swing down to the branch
below, then look up at the snake – it’s still motionless.
Finally you jump down to the forest floor, relieved to be back on the ground again. You walk on through the forest, looking at the ground, mindful of snakes that could be
slithering across the forest floor, or hiding underneath fallen leaves.
Click
here
.