Why is the jungle a dangerous place? Prevention and treatment of diseases in the jungle. Find a source of drinking water

Lyubov Burova

Dangerous Jungle

The jeep was driving along a gravel road that led through the jungle, like a small vessel through the powerful body of a majestic forest. The tree kingdom surrounded them with a solid wall. There were giants several tens of meters high with wide roots and huge branches. Their powerful trunks, covered with smooth and shiny bark, reached several meters in diameter. Medium-sized trees and graceful palms, densely entangled with vines, towered above a tier consisting of flowering shrubs, ferns with huge feathery leaves and all kinds of grasses. Red begonias, white and golden orchids, and pink bromeliads were everywhere, giving the jungle a unique charm.

The trunks of the giants went up. There, above, they spread out their huge crowns, interconnected by vines or epiphytic plants growing directly on the branches. Because of this, from a bird's eye view the jungle looked like a solid green massif.

Melissa has admired this many times in her life amazing creation nature - during hiking, excursions by car and even from a helicopter, but one could not get enough of this beauty. It was a different world, where time and space were felt differently, and the soul was filled with admiration and delight.

One trip was the most memorable. During her birthday celebration when she was twelve years old, her father arranged an extraordinary surprise and rented a hot air balloon. It was an unforgettable adventure. The route was laid along one of the most beautiful places in Colombia - Lake Guatavita, located fifty kilometers northeast of the capital Bogota in the Cundinamarca mountains. Many myths and legends were associated with this round and quiet lake, located in the crater of an extinct volcano and surrounded on all sides by forest thicket, including the famous legend about the land of gold - Eldorado.

Lake Guatavita in old times was the sacred lake of the Muiscas - Indian tribes of the Chibcha linguistic group, who were the creators of one of the most highly developed ancient civilizations of South America. The Muiscas, like all Chibcha Indians, worshiped the forces of nature. Above all, they revered the sun and water, and in their honor, upon the accession of the next priest-king to the throne, a solemn ceremony was held. Using thin tubes, the high priest was covered from head to toe with golden sand. Then, in the rays of the rising sun, he plunged into the waters of the sacred lake, while the “golden” skin was washed off from him. Afterwards, figurines, rings, necklaces made of gold and decorated were thrown into the water. precious stones, as an offering to the gods. The ceremony was held extremely rarely, but the imagination of profit lovers made it a daily occurrence. Thus was born the legend about the mythical country of Eldorado with its countless treasures and the “golden man” ruling this fabulously rich country.

They took off near the small town of Guatavita, located on the shore of a man-made reservoir and built in the sixties of the last century on the site of a flooded old village. White stucco houses with red-tiled roofs, neat cobblestone paths, elegant wrought-iron lanterns and cozy taverns created the exquisite beauty and charm of Guatavita.

Melissa had never flown before. hot-air balloon, and she was overwhelmed with emotion. As the ball began to rise into the sky, she grabbed the edge of the basket. But very soon the feeling of flight and extraordinary lightness displaced fear from consciousness.

It was unforgettable to soar over an ocean of greenery. They flew almost to the tops of the very tall trees, heard the cries of monkeys, the trills of birds, and then a magnificent view of the lake suddenly opened up in front of them. It was shaped like a saucer, and the water had a rich emerald green hue.

This flight remained forever in her memory as something magical.

Melissa's childhood was different from that of many other children. Her father, a lieutenant colonel in the Colombian Air Force, was a strict parent. He was confident that only home education could provide a level of knowledge worthy of his daughter, and also protect her from negative influences from the outside.

And, starting from the age of three, the girl spent half of her day in classes with tutors and teachers, and the second half was devoted to reading, drawing and dancing.

Mom constantly argued with my father, believing that such a load was dangerous for health problems due to moral and physical exhaustion, but my father was adamant. He assured that since his daughter was behaving calmly, she was experiencing good perception and assimilation new information, then there is no overvoltage. Moreover, classes usually alternated with walks or took place on fresh air, which in itself helped relieve tension.

By the age of seven, Melissa not only had the basic knowledge needed to enroll in school, but also spoke, read, and wrote Spanish, English, and French. But her favorite pastime was drawing.

Melissa never complained to her parents that she was tired, did not shirk from classes or throw tantrums. She accepted everything that her parents, experienced teachers and tutors tried to invest in her calmly, with a feeling of genuine interest and a desire to absorb this knowledge. And when classes took place on the ocean shore, in a park or museum, it pleased her even more.

Melissa loved learning languages. It was so great to talk in French with my mother, in English with Aunt Isabella - my mother’s sister - and then sing funny songs together in Spanish. Aunt lived in New York and came to visit them, and then those were truly magical days, full of joy and adventure. It was Isabella who instilled in her niece a love of painting. She was just getting started teaching activities at the New York University School of the Arts in the Department of Painting and Composition.

When Melissa was seven years old, she moved in with Isabella and enrolled in the Dalton School, located in eastern New York, where students were prepared for university.

There was no talk about going to school in Columbia, and at first her father actually wanted to enroll her in Leman Manhattan Preparatory School, an elite boarding school located in the center of New York. He believed that this would be better for the girl and her upbringing, but Victoria and Isabella were categorically against this, insisting that Melissa was a home child, and sudden change lifestyle will have a bad impact on her psycho-emotional state. In the end, they managed to convince him to have the girl enter Dalton School, especially since the school had a good art studio, while the level of painting teaching at Leman Manhattan Preparatory School was insufficient.

You can easily get into the jungle, into the wild tropical forest even in the most cultural country. Why is the island of Singapore a civilized and cleaned-up state, and even there there is a piece of real jungle (in the botanical garden). So any country located in tropical zone, sooner or later you will face harsh reality natural nature. Or maybe you yourself would like to try yourself in the role of Mowgli. A two-day excursion through a real rainforest - and you will remember it for the rest of your life.

The jungle is not a picnic in the Moscow region. British, American and some other troops developed detailed guidelines on how to survive in the most difficult conditions and with a minimum of resources. However, most of us cannot even imagine such a thing. If you're lucky, you won't be caught in a guerrilla war in the tropics. Or, even worse, end up in the jungle as a result of a plane crash. On the other hand, you shouldn’t be afraid of the jungle until your knees tremble. You just need to know the rules of behavior and the laws of survival. That's what we'll talk about.

If you find yourself in the jungle against your will, there is no need to panic. As you know, this is the first condition for overcoming any extreme situation. Think of the many intrepid travelers who have roamed vast spaces and lived for days and even months in places worse than the rainforest. There you are definitely not in danger of frostbite, dehydration or fainting from hunger. In the end, remember your ancestors - they once lived in similar conditions (not referring to monkeys at all). And you will have confidence in your abilities. Later, calmly assessing the circumstances in which you find yourself, you will understand that nothing particularly terrible happened.

Actually, the jungle cannot be called an unpleasant place (it is much more unpleasant to end up in a garbage dump near a big city). But you will definitely have to face some inconveniences. For starters, it's usually warm there as long as you're wearing dry clothes. Get wet and you can freeze very quickly (especially at night). Therefore, you will have to keep a sleeping bag and a change of dry clothes ready at all times. The best way to keep things dry is to pack them in plastic bags. Moreover, in the jungle, surprises often await you: either your backpack fell into the river, or a tropical downpour poured in (the effect is approximately the same). It is most convenient to stuff your equipment into at least three such bags: one with dry clothes, another with a camera, notebooks, and a third with food.

But be prepared for the fact that you will still have to wear wet clothes. No big deal: it's unpleasant for the first 10 minutes in the morning. In hot weather, it will dry quickly right on you, after which you will still sweat. Or you'll get caught in the rain. Be sure to save a change of dry clothes for sleep.

Since you will often sweat in the jungle, it is not a sin to do laundry every now and then. The conditions here are quite suitable for this. There are many bodies of water, so choose one where you won’t see crocodiles nearby, and wash it. It is better to do this on a sunny day - then things can be dried on hot coastal stones for half an hour. Of course, your camp toilet can be dried over a fire in the evening. But then in the morning you will have to put on something dry that stinks disgustingly of smoke.

Always wear loose clothing in the tropics. It may not suit you very well, but the process of constant getting wet and drying leads to the fact that your suit instantly shrinks. Cotton is best for walking in the tropics, but of good quality so that it does not begin to rot and tear too quickly.

For feet, baseball cleats or lightweight canvas shoes with rubber soles are usually recommended. However, over long distances, good leather shoes will protect your feet from bruises and blisters much better. In places where leeches live, you have to take footwear a little more seriously: first they put on special cotton stockings, and tie them under the knee with a string so that they don’t slip, and only then socks and boots. On top are long trousers. Then your feet are completely safe. Despite their external unattractiveness, such stockings are an ideal remedy for leeches.

To move around in the jungle, two things are especially necessary: ​​a large knife or machete and a compass. In addition to what has already been listed, the backpack must contain a map, a waterproof raincoat, tools for starting a fire (a lighter is better than matches), a camp pot, tea or coffee, sugar, and powdered milk.

It is customary to spend the night in the forests of South America in hammocks. Otherwise tropical world for some reason they prefer tents. What is much less convenient: the ground is literally teeming with insects and small animals. If there is no hammock, then making this universal bed from any waterproof cloth is a matter of technique. And take care of hygiene. Small scratches in tropical forest They begin to fester quickly and sometimes do not heal for a very long time. The best prevention is to wash and treat wounds at least once a day.

Try to pack food for your trip that is light, compact, and filling. There will be no problems with water, but metal containers with a supply of water will not hurt: puddles, rivers, streams and lakes in the jungle are teeming with bacteria. It is better to replenish supplies from plant viaducts, which are formed by vines and rattans (palm). In their leaves, as in water lily flowers, rainwater can accumulate, which is not very safe, but is still better than ordinary river water. It is quite convenient to drink from such plants, although it is better to filter the liquid through fabric or parts of clothing so as not to swallow sediment.

The jungle is home to a huge amount of living creatures, which swarm around the traveler. In streams - often directly with your hands - you can catch shrimp, turtles, frogs and even fish. Moreover, they are all edible and even tasty. The same cannot be said about plant fruits. It is better not to touch fruits - even ripe ones, even those that animals eat before your eyes. Some edible-looking plants and mushrooms can be very poisonous. Never try to taste wild bee honey unless you know how to handle bees. Not only can you get stung, hornet stings can even be fatal. It is difficult to maintain hygienic standards when preparing food in the tropics. So be prepared for at least mild indigestion.

As for the dangers, there are no more of them in the jungle than on the streets of Moscow at night. Predators prefer slightly smaller living creatures as prey than Homo sapiens, and venomous snakes do not bite very often. One American expedition spent 15 months in Borneo, and, imagine, not one of its participants was bitten. On the contrary, it was the pundits who reduced the number of snakes in the area, as they sometimes included fried reptiles in their menu. True, they knew well the difference between a poisonous snake and a non-poisonous one, how to behave in the presence of a distinguished guest, and how to catch it without much damage to their own skin.

However, an ampoule with an antidote never hurts. What to hide, there are, of course, places where there are too many poisonous snakes, no matter the hour. And no boots will save you. For example, in Costa Rica. Most of the other small nasties (thorns, ants, insects) are more annoying than actually causing pain.

The jungle only seems like a scary place when you're not used to it. Loud strange cries, a gigantic number of unfamiliar reptiles, flying, biting and stinging midges and oppressive heat - they all seemed to conspire to make the traveler lose heart. In fact, the jungle is a paradise. If you are irritated, upset, have lost the meaning of life and are close to suicide, go there immediately. The world you will find yourself in will be so unusual and amazing that there will simply be no time left for self-criticism. And dangers, even imaginary ones, will strengthen your spirit. Many problems that seemed insoluble will cease to exist. In addition, in most parts of the world where jungles remain, aborigines still live. By following their advice and traveling under their guidance, you will enrich yourself with the experience of life in the natural world and, in turn, help them regain the self-respect suppressed by modern civilization.

It is probably true that we live in an era of revolutionary disruption, geological shifts of continents and destinies - otherwise how can we explain our increased craving for adventure literature? But L. M. Burova’s story “Dangerous Jungle” is not only an exciting adventure, but also a romantic story about love, about the courage of the fragile and charming girl Melissa, “whose heart was filled with the cheerful excitement of adventure.” Finding herself among bandits more dangerous than the pirates of Treasure Island, she managed to steadfastly endure the trials that befell her and even won the heart of one of... but, reader, and even more so the reader, if you want to know how to find your happiness at gunpoint pistol, open the book... and you won’t close it until you finish reading it!

They had been driving for about an hour. First, we took an asphalt road through the suburb of La Plata towards Algeciras, then, going deeper into the jungle, we drove onto a gravel road. Throughout the journey, Marco several times drew her attention to the most beautiful views they passed by. Basically, he tried not to bother her with empty chatter, having first asked whether the girl needed detailed stories about Colombia, and received a negative answer.

After about another twenty minutes, the jeep drove off the road onto the grass and stopped.

- We arrived? – Melissa asked, closing the lens cap and hanging the camera around her neck.

- Yes! From here it is still about five hundred meters, but there is a path there. It’s quite comfortable to walk,” Marco turned off the engine.

- Amazing!

The girl opened the door, hung her bag over her shoulder and jumped onto the grass. Looking around, she listened and smiled. The singing of birds, the cries of parrots, the rustling of the wind in the dense foliage - all this gave the jungle a special enchanting power. Most of the sounds around set the general background. It was crackling, tapping, whistling, but almost every few seconds a beautiful bird trill was heard.

Marco got out of the car, took a machete in a case from the back seat, attached it to his belt, then closed the car and put the keys in his pocket.

As soon as they entered the forest, the elastic leaves of the plants began to whip the girl on her bare legs. Of course, short denim shorts and a T-shirt with short sleeves were not the best clothes for walking in the jungle, but she didn’t have the opportunity to take jeans as well. The most important thing is that you don’t encounter some nasty insects along the way, and a couple of scratches don’t bother her much.

Melissa was terribly afraid of spiders, large caterpillars and centipedes, but despite numerous walks and excursions through the jungle, she had never encountered them directly “nose to nose”. Usually other members of the group bumped into them, and if she looked at them, it was from a respectful distance. Therefore, in the jungle the girl felt calm, although she did not exclude that this calm could evaporate at any moment.

She remembered how hysterical it had caused her great centipede seen in the garden. But now, stamping her feet in comfortable sneakers on a carpet of woven tree roots and leaves, she didn’t think about the bad. In her head there were only thoughts about what awaited her ahead, and what gorgeous photographs and drawings she would bring home today.

A couple of times, disturbing thoughts about the gangster groups with which her father was scaring her flashed again in the depths of her mind, but Melissa reassured herself that they were not going to get into the wilderness. They follow the usual tourist route, which means it simply must be safe. Moreover, Casa Agapito and the area around it are not considered dangerous and are controlled by the Colombian army.

The guide walked ahead, cutting off leaves and branches with a machete with quick and precise movements. A semblance of a path had already been laid out for tourists here, but some branches still got in the way. Melissa removed the lens cap and began hunting for interesting shots.

Scattered rays of light made their way through the dense foliage. Because of this, a greenish twilight reigned almost everywhere in the jungle, and when photographing we had to deal with a banal lack of lighting and use a flash, but this could not be the reason for refusing to take photographs.

- Marco! Please wait a minute, I'll take a couple of pictures.

He obediently froze, sheathing the machete and lighting a cigarette.

The girl took several photographs of a giant vine intricately entwined around a tree trunk. It descended from somewhere above almost to the ground and wrapped itself around the tree trunk in several rows.

Then they moved on, deeper into the jungle. According to Melissa's calculations, they should have already reached the waterfall. Finally, a noise was heard ahead, and the air became even more humid. The girl eagerly peered into the thickets ahead, trying to make out the waterfall.

The noise was getting louder and louder. Suddenly the jungle parted and open space appeared ahead. Melissa followed Marco, and a picture of incredible beauty opened before her.

- What a miracle!!! – an enthusiastic exclamation burst from her chest.

Melissa definitely hasn’t seen this waterfall yet. She walked forward, admiring the magnificent creation of nature. A stream of water fell from a cliff about twenty meters high. Below stretched a small lake with clear azure water, adjoined on one side by a large clearing, half overgrown with huge ferns. The second half consisted of stones of all sizes.

Several huge stone blocks lay right near the edge of the forest, like guards at the entrance to this paradise. From them to the lake itself there was a wide path of smaller stones, which then framed the lake in a semicircle.

Melissa walked closer to the lake, carefully moving from stone to stone.

- Be careful. You could easily twist your ankle here,” Marco’s warning came from behind.

- Yes thank you! I'm careful.

The girl stepped onto one of the stones with a fairly flat surface, which lay at the very edge of the lake, and, squatting down, touched the water. It was warm and transparent, but Melissa did not plan to swim. Firstly, there was simply no time for this, and secondly, in such lakes there may be leeches and other unpleasant and dangerous creatures, such as snakes. And now she has absolutely no need for unnecessary troubles. Placing her bag on a rock, she began taking photographs.

The guide sat a little further away on the trunk of a fallen tree and smoked, watching the girl climb the rocks. Several times he offered to help her, but Melissa decided that she could handle it just fine on her own.

After about a hundred different frames were taken, the girl put the camera in her bag. She couldn't wait to capture this beauty on paper. Images flashed in my head of how it all could look on canvas, but she would also make wonderful drawings with pencils, and with crayons she would create volume. You just need to choose a place where you could settle down. Looking around, she saw that the tree on which the guide was sitting had a good view. I didn’t want to sit on the rocks, much less on the grass. Picking up her bag, Melissa walked over to Marco.

– I have a big request to ask you. I'm going to draw now and I want to sit on this tree. Could you make sure that no insect accidentally crawls on me?

- Yes, sure. No problem!

- Thank you very much.

Sitting on a tree, she began to take everything she needed out of her bag. Marco moved a little further. Melissa placed her notebook on her lap and laid out crayons and pencils next to her. The presence of the guide did not disturb her at all; on the contrary, kind and unobtrusive energy emanated from him. And when she plunged into work, everything around, except for the subject of the sketch, ceased to exist at all.

In forty minutes two drawings were ready. The girl made a sketch of the overall picture and the waterfall separately, focusing on the water - here she found crayons especially useful. During all this time, Marco stood up several times and walked around her from behind, checking to see if any insect dared to encroach on her peace.

Having made another series of sketches, Melissa smiled contentedly, feeling a pleasant feeling of satisfaction with the resulting work.

Several more ideas for drawings appeared in my head that could be drawn at home, based on photographs, and for this it was necessary to take a few more frames. Putting her notebook and crayons in her bag, she took out her camera and got down to business.

After taking about twenty more shots, the girl decided that now she needed to ask Marco to take a photo of her. Not capturing yourself here would be an unforgivable mistake. Upon arrival in New York, these photographs will take pride of place in her photo album. Moreover, she remembered how friends said that the conductor took photographs of them. Smiling, she approached Marco.

– Could you take a photo of me?

- Yes, sure.

- Amazing!

The girl handed him the camera and ran to the lake. Marco followed her.

After about thirty pictures and three changes of location, Melissa took another minute to scan the lake. Behind the waterfall there was a small depression in the rock. From there you could get beautiful close-up shots of water jets. And it would be great to take a photo from behind the waterfall. Maybe Marco can tell you if it’s possible to get there? And if so, will it help her? Thinking this over, she turned to Marco, about to ask a question, and froze in surprise.

Behind the conductor stood a tall man wearing black pants, a dark gray T-shirt and what looked like a bulletproof vest. Marco didn’t even suspect that there was a man standing half a meter behind him. The man’s gaze was cold and concentrated, and this immediately made the girl feel a little uneasy. He didn't look like a tourist, and he didn't look like a military man either. There was something frighteningly dangerous in his whole image.

“We need to tell Marco that someone is standing behind him,” a thought flashed through her mind, but the stranger was ahead of Melissa. Taking a quick step forward, he struck the conductor with a strong and sharp blow to the neck with the edge of his palm. He fell to the ground face down as if knocked down.

Everything happened so unexpectedly that in the first seconds the girl did not even understand what had happened. As if in slow motion, she saw the camera fall from Marco's hands, and he ended up at the stranger's feet. A million of the most terrible thoughts and assumptions instantly flashed through my head.

A wave of fear, originating somewhere in the area of ​​the solar plexus, in an instant spread throughout the body, affecting every cell of it. A huge surge of adrenaline into the blood made my heart beat wildly. My stomach shrank into a tiny lump, and my ears began to buzz.

The man looked closely at Melissa. Two glances met: one full of horror, the other of cold calm. The stranger pointedly pressed his index finger to his lips, and the scream that was about to break from her lips got stuck in her throat. At this time, the man leaned over to Marco, searched his pockets and, taking out his car keys and phone, put them in his vest pocket.

Melissa felt a massive tremor shake through her body. Who is this man?! What should she do?! Is Marco really dead and she is left alone with the killer?! Thoughts flashed in a whirlwind in my head, mixed with the onset of panic. The sight of a man destroyed the slightest hope of resistance. He was much taller and larger, and he definitely had a firearm or bladed weapon with him. And she has nothing with which to even try to defend herself.

At this time, the stranger took the first step towards her, and the girl unconsciously backed away, remembering in time that there was a lake behind her and she was standing on a stone. As if in a fog, she saw a pistol in a holster, a machete knife attached to her belt, and a huge cleaver in a sheath on her shin. It was all like a terrible nightmare, when a person is in danger, but he cannot do anything. Your legs won’t obey you, there’s nowhere to run, and the enemy is getting closer.

Standing on the rock, she was trapped. An attempt to escape could end in disaster. You could fall on the rocks in no time. But even if she manages to reach the path, there is no one here who can help her. The stranger was getting closer, and Melissa, instinctively defensive, extended her hand forward and muttered with trembling lips:

– Please, don’t kill me! Take it all! I have money, a phone. It's expensive. Also take a camera. I just beg you - let me go!

The man did not pay the slightest attention to her words, and his chilling gaze seemed to pin the girl to the spot. My heart was ready to jump out of my chest. Up close, the stranger seemed even taller, and the danger emanating from him intensified significantly.

When he came close, Melissa, holding her breath, looked up at him, and her gaze was immediately drawn to his eyes. Saturated grey colour with a cold metallic tint, it attracted and bewitched. One could drown and dissolve in them if these eyes belonged to another person and in a different situation. And now the look of those steely eyes made Melissa feel creepy.

Maybe he's not going to kill her?! We must try to persuade him, to convince him that it is more profitable for him not to kill her. The brain feverishly gave out ideas, but one of them in this situation was the most logical.

- My father influential person! Contact him and he will pay you big money! Very big!

The man slowly looked over her face, as if studying her more carefully, and suddenly his deep voice was heard:

– Don’t make a sound and don’t you dare twitch, otherwise it will hurt! Understood?

He acted on her like a boa constrictor on a rabbit, and Melissa, turning pale, nodded slowly, feeling her eyes sting from brewing tears. Maybe he will take the money, all the things and leave her alone? Her hopeful thoughts were shattered when the man grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the nearby trees. What if he drags her into the jungle and kills her there?! The assumption seemed crazy, but that didn’t make it any less real. Completely forgetting about the warning, the girl planted her feet on the ground and tried to pull her hand away, but he didn’t seem to feel her resistance.

-Where are you taking me?! Let go!!! Please!!! I am begging you!!! Do not do that!!!

- Quiet! – the man said without even turning around, and only squeezed her palm tighter.

Melissa felt panic fill her completely, rolling in powerful waves onto her mind, which rebelled against the mere thought of death. She no longer understood where she was, could not make out sounds and sensations.

- No!!! No need!!! Please!!! – begging and choking with tears, the girl desperately tried to break free from the steel grip of the holding hand and unclench his fingers, but it was all useless.

The stranger held tightly, and all attempts to stop him were mercilessly stopped by strong tugs on his arm. Melissa's strength left her rapidly, as did her clarity of thinking. When she realized that resistance was futile, a stupor came over her that was worse than hysteria. My legs refused to move, as if they were filled with lead.

The man stopped near a tree and turned to her, the girl looked at him in disbelief, sobbing, swallowing tears and breathing heavily. Why did he stop when they didn't even reach the forest? Maybe he's not going to kill her after all?! The faint flame of hope in my soul flared up brighter.

– Please, I beg you, let me go!! – Melissa begged.

At this time, the stranger took out a small rope from his pants pocket and jerked the girl closer. With a deft movement, he tied a knot on one of Melissa's hands, threw the resulting loop over the other and tightened the rope. Then he quickly tied the ends of the rope so that the girl’s arms were above her head, pressed to the branch and securely fixed.

His actions completely confused Melissa. Did this mean that he was definitely not going to kill her? But why tie it then?! This bandit could easily stun her and take all her things. Yes, she herself would gladly give him everything if this was the reason for the attack, so that later he would leave her alone.

We must try again to talk to him, to convince him that helping her return home would be much more profitable for him. Otherwise, his only prize will be a phone with a camera and about a million pesos.

– Please listen to me! My father will pay you a large sum if you let me go! Let me call!

The man's action following his words was unexpected and lightning fast. Right hand flew up, fingers wrapped around her neck, and her thumb rested on her larynx. Gray eyes flashed angrily.

- I told you: not a sound! You did not understand? I can explain it differently! - he said, raising his voice a little, and pressed his finger on the larynx.

Melissa jerked in fear, but his hand securely fixed her neck, and her hands were tied to a branch. The man pressed a little harder, causing her to cough. Frightened by these strange and unpleasant sensations in her throat, she croaked:

- Understood! Understood! Let go!

– I’m not used to repeating myself twice! – Throwing another warning glance, the stranger let go of her neck and walked in the direction where Marco was lying.

Melissa had no idea that ordinary pressure on the larynx could cause such unpleasant sensations, and she coughed, trying to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat. Raising her head, the girl looked at how he tied her and jerked her hands to loosen the rope. She couldn't reach the knots with her fingers, and they were most likely tied so tightly that she couldn't untie them even with her free hands. Melissa desperately twisted and twisted her wrists, the ropes dug painfully into her skin, but after a minute she finally realized that it was all useless. You can hang on a branch with all your weight and try to break it. Although what this can give her is nothing!

Even in nightmare Melissa couldn't imagine ever finding herself in this situation. The uncertainty of the future scared me the most. The stranger's behavior remained a mystery to her. This man didn’t look much like an ordinary robber, but then who was he? Rebel?! As far as she knew, rebels rarely walked alone, but what if it was just a coincidence and he was one of them after all? Then they will most likely demand a ransom for it.

Pangs of conscience and feelings of guilt began to grow in her soul as soon as she thought about her parents. Why did she start all this?! Her father warned her, trying to protect her from danger, but she did not listen, trying to prove her independence. How stupid! And what stress will mom go through when she finds out about everything!

“Forgive me,” Melissa whispered, and tears rolled down her cheeks again and fell on the grass.

Etc.), since in it we consider ten different criteria by which animals are considered deadly.

Many criteria are not affected. Please add other deadly animals in your comments.

10. Savannah African Elephant - Animal Power.

King of the Jungle is a title that still unjustifiably belongs to the elephant rather than the lion. Elephants do not live in African jungles. The African elephant is the largest land animal on the planet and has no natural predators (humans are not considered a natural predator). The elephants you see in zoos are nothing like wild elephants. In zoos, elephants do not regard humans as a threat. In the wild, any non-herbivore animal is a threat, and elephants are smart enough to understand who is who.

In the wild, an elephant is safe up to a point. You can be 100 meters away from him, he will notice you, but will not attack. Or he can attack you from 500 meters as soon as he sees you. Naturally, the largest land animal is confident in its superior strength, and indeed it knows it, but it has an intelligence that sets it apart from some primates. That's not hard to understand considering he has an 11-pound brain.

The elephant is the most graceful of Africa's big five game animals, and while it is still legal to hunt them, a permit to kill one elephant costs around $50,000. Hunters are only allowed to kill single old males or females that don't have much longer to live. . The funds received go towards preserving the species. Despite their size, they can easily hide in tall bushes, and their ears allow them to hear you long before you hear them. They have an extraordinary sense of smell, allowing them to smell you from one mile away. And thanks to their huge size, they don't have to run or hide. Adult elephants have no natural predators. No one and nothing dares to mess with them. They can run at a speed of 25 miles per hour for 100 meters, i.e. faster than Usain Bolt.

They are hyper-aggressive during must. Must is the reproductive hormone of male elephants, mostly testosterone, which increases 60 times during this period. Because of this, the elephant wants to copulate with any female that comes into its sight, and also encourages it to attack everything around it. Must causes excessive irritability and aggression in the male.

There have been cases where elephants have attacked during a must, despite being shot at point-blank twice with a .460 Weatherby Magnum (usually one shot is enough to knock an elephant down on the spot) and trample the hunter to death, as well as destroying light safari jeeps; The 6-ton males threw the 14-foot hippo over their heads, stomped their tree-sized paws, and tore at the anchor chains attached to them. They are smart enough to stick their tusks into the links of a chain and throw it to the ground if they cannot overcome the iron.

9. African Lion - Combination of Strength and Speed.

The tiger is slightly larger than the lion and is just as fast, but the lion is stronger than the tiger, since it is the only cat that can act together during the hunt. This helps him bring down his prey much faster than if he acted alone. Lions are perhaps the most intelligent of the felines - members of one group secretly surround a herd of animals and when the lions sitting in ambush signal the leading lions by coughing or sneezing, the prey is chased into the ambush and several of the hunted animals are killed, so that the lions do not it takes a long chase.

An adult male lion is approximately 15 cm taller than a tiger and weighs approximately 150-250 kg. It would seem that with such a size a lion should be clumsy, but this is not at all the case. He can run 100 meters at 50 miles per hour. Lions can run across high fences while holding a cow in their teeth. They can jump up to 12 feet and jump down to 40 feet. Their mortal enemy, the hyena, does not dare to attack alone, but the lion is able to repel even the attack of a pack of hyenas.

Video broadcasts often show how a group of hyenas steal the prey of lionesses, after which the lionesses again kill the victims and again lose their prey. Eventually, the lionesses "complain" to the main lion, growling at him until he wakes up. He sees hyenas eating prey 200 meters away, approaches them to within 50 meters, then pounces and kills 9 of them before the others can escape. With one blow of his front paw he tears one hyena in half along the spine.

There are cases where lions have bitten the tires of cars with tourists in them in order to stop them. To scare them away, guides use recordings of elephant sounds. They are still legal to hunt, but they are quite expensive to protect (as they should be). Hunting extends to some types, as well as man-eating lions. The two most notorious cases occurred in Tsavo involving maneless cannibals in 1898. From March to December they killed and ate 135 railway workers in Tsavo, Kenya. They were gigantic in size, even for lions, about 3 meters in length, and 8 people were involved in catching them. The hunter who killed them, Colonel John Patterson, shot one of them at least 8 times with a .303 Lee-Enfield, which has bullet power comparable to a .30-06.

8. Sea wasp jellyfish - The Most Poisonous in the Sea.

Everyone is always interested in which animal is the most poisonous. And there are two answers to this question. Life in the sea arose about three billion years before the appearance of life on earth, and during this time the sea gave birth to its animals - the most terrible, dangerous, more perfect (see point 4). There are many species of jellyfish, but Chironex fleckeri, also known as the "sea wasp", is the most notorious.

The weight of the “sea wasp” varies between two kilograms. The dome is similar in size to a basketball; 15 tentacles reach a length of up to 3 meters. It was previously believed that her poison glowed, however, this is not so. Instead, the venom absorbs and reflects the faint light of the sun into the tentacles, giving the jellyfish a heavenly glow even at dusk. Fortunately, this helps to recognize its approach. The jellyfish uses its venom to immobilize the fish, and if it engulfs you in its tentacles for any length of time, the venom will dissolve you.

At night, the jellyfish hides on the seabed. During the daytime it hunts shrimp, minnows and other small fish. sea ​​turtles capable of eating jellyfish, which they often do. They have a very thick shell that protects them from stings. A person does not die from a slight jellyfish sting, but he arrives in a state much worse than death. The body is pierced by excruciating, sharp, incredible pain. Children don't cry when bitten. They squeak. Rescuers say it is easier to amputate a stung limb than to endure the pain.

If a person falls into the “embrace of a jellyfish,” which happens quite often on the northern coast of Australia, the substance included in the poison leads to cardiac arrest within 3 minutes. That is 180 seconds. You will not drown, since the poison penetrates the brain, which ceases to control the muscles. Since 1884, the sea wasp has killed 63 people, most of them in Australia. Jellyfish are also found off the coast of the Philippines and Malaysia.

7. Inland Taipan - The Most Poisonous on Earth.

Do not confuse the inland taipan with the coastal taipan or the central taipan. All three species are extremely poisonous. The inland taipan, also known as the "fierce snake" (for its venom), is a small snake, a two-step snake, with an average size reaching 1.9 meters, with the largest individual recorded reaching 2.5 meters. They are very shy and always avoid the proximity of a large animal. She will bite if cornered.

Average lethal dose The amount of poison released is 30 micrograms per 1 kilogram. In one bite, she injects an average of 44 milligrams, which is equal to 44,000 micrograms. It can release up to 110 milligrams. However, this snake has never been considered a killer for humans. This is explained by the fact that it lives in an uninhabited part of Australia, where humans rarely appear, and it also takes a lot of work to get it to bite. It feeds exclusively on rodents and does not wait for its prey to die. She bites up to 8 times to speed up the killing process.

The venom itself is called "typoxin" from the name of the snake itself. It is one of the most powerful natural toxins on earth and stops communication between the brain and muscles, leading to asphyxia. The antidote is 100% likely to help, as long as you don't have to travel 200 miles to the hospital. A bite received in the calf, injected with 44 mg, will knock down a 90-kilogram person within 300 meters of running or within 45 minutes with a calm pulse. According to herpetologists, if the taipan were non-poisonous, it could become an excellent pet for lovers of home terrariums, given its non-aggressive character.

6. Human - Animal Anger.

Have you noticed the fact that most history textbooks divide eras into major social, political or destructive moments, and that the divider is war? Over 200,000 years of modern human history (our history), the only thing that man has learned to do well is kill. All animals fight, and only man wages war. We are the only species on Earth that has ever existed that is trying to completely destroy itself. And we are constantly improving in this; man is developing science, the purpose of which in most cases is to develop a new method of killing.

We do it so well that we can’t even admit it to ourselves. We resort to euphemism, especially during war. We don't call it killing - it's fighting, "defending our freedom", "neutralizing the enemy", "justifiable killing", "warfare", "exclusive execution of orders".

Man is the only creature capable of revenge, hatred or sadism. And we know all three concepts. We kill for any reason.

Gunpowder was invented by Chinese alchemists in search of the elixir of life, then used as a material for fireworks. It didn't last long. It is now better known as gunpowder.

The Wright brothers, the first aviators, did not create airplanes to invade the territory of other countries and bombard “enemy” lands. They didn't think an air war would be possible. No matter how it is! "Death rays", created according to Tesla's developments, are also designed to defeat the enemy. Einstein did not know that his theory of relativity was being used to split atoms to kill people. If Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi had explained to him what was happening in the Manhattan Project, he would have burst into tears.

There have been exceptionally good personalities in our history, such as Jesus, Indira Gandhi, Martin Luther King, etc. What do we do with them? We hate them, we hurt them, we kill them.

Man is an unnatural being for the reasons described. It does not fit into any environment except the urban one. We consider ourselves predators, often proud of it. However, a person would not survive even half a fight with any of the representatives of this list. But this only provokes us to fight, and we do so at a level that distinguishes us from other species - at the level of thinking. With the proper training (usually a weapon), we are more than a match for other most dangerous creatures. And this charges us with malice and/or “sporting” interest.

5. Mosquitoes - High Mortality.

Their bites belong greatest number human deaths among those caused by all microscopic insects combined. A mosquito is easy to kill if it doesn't have time to bite you. You can swat him with ease, but he has already done his job. All you experience is a slight itch. This is due to mosquito saliva containing histamine, which irritates your skin.

The main danger of mosquitoes is that they transmit infectious, fatal diseases that cannot be treated to people and livestock. Malaria is the most well-known disease, which can be fatal in 20% of cases, even taking into account modern treatments. They are also carriers of West Nile virus, lymphatic filariasis ( roundworms), tularemia, dengue fever, tropical fever and others. All of these diseases can be fatal.

In addition, mosquitoes can kill not only by contracting infectious diseases. In the Australian outback (another reason not to go there) and in the south of the Sahara, where minor floods occur seasonally, at these moments excellent conditions are created for the reproduction and development of huge numbers of mosquitoes. Gathering in flocks of up to 1 billion individuals, they attack cows and camels, bleeding the animal carcass in just 10 minutes.

4. Shark - The Ultimate Killing Machine.

As mentioned in point 4, the ocean harbors highly developed life. The shark has no natural predators, except bigger shark. The whale shark is considered the largest, but it feeds exclusively on small fish species, krill and plankton. Of the smaller species, the greatest danger is the white shark. It was about her that Steven Spielberg made the film “Jaws” at one time. In this film, the shark is well characterized by Richard Dreyfuss: "All it does is swim, eat and make little sharks." It can reach a length of 6 meters and weigh 2.5 tons and swim at a speed of 35 meters per second. Michael Phelps set the 100 freestyle world record at 47.82 seconds, which works out to 4.7 mph. The shark is ready to cover 25 miles in the same period of time.

All sharks have an excellent sense of smell. An excellent sense of smell compensates for poor eyesight. Each of her species can smell a drop of blood from afar. They can smell blood from 8 kilometers away; in one bite they can taste 14 kilograms of flesh. In theory, sharks are in a constant state of hunger. A 6-meter individual is ready to bite with a force of 1800 kilograms, which exceeds the power of the 375 H&H Magnum.

Sharks - incredible creatures, possessing a lot of amazing qualities, one of which is electroreception. The shark has special Lorenzini capsules in its head. With each movement, the fish generates a small electric field, and the capsules help the shark calculate it. Thus, a person in the water instantly attracts the attention of a shark. The sensitivity of sharks allows one to detect a voltage of one billionth of a volt, which means that it can sense the beating of a human heart from about 100 meters away.

3. African Buffalo - Most Unpredictable.

Wild buffalo are one of the most dangerous animals on the planet. The skin of a buffalo is not as thick as that of an elephant, but large-caliber weapons are used to hunt it. Such weapons allow the hunter to shoot without delay, but the first shot rarely kills the animal. Even after being wounded in the head, the buffalo continues to attack. The caliber 585 Nyati was specially designed for hunting this animal. Nyati means "African buffalo" in Swahili.

You might think that driving through the African grasslands in a safari jeep is a completely safe activity, and this is true, provided that you do not meet an African buffalo. They can attack for no particular reason; adult bulls can easily overturn vans, trucks and jeeps with their massive horns. A 900-kilogram male can accelerate to a speed of 65 kilometers per hour. Often, professional hunting organizations refuse to hunt them, fearing for the lives of hunters. Every year, their horns and hooves cause the death of more than 200 people, which is a large number than the victims of any other African animal.

2. Clostridium Botulinum - The Most Toxic Bacteria on Earth.

One teaspoon of this bacterium is enough to kill the entire population of the United States of America, and 4 kilograms is enough to kill all of humanity. Like poison No. 7 in the ranking, the botulism bacillus causes paralysis of the diaphragm, breaks the connection between the brain and muscles, and leads to asphyxia.

Botolinum lives in the soil of every continent and every ecosystem on Earth, from the Sahara Desert to Antarctica. It even develops on the seabed. She needs ideal conditions in order to become active and, accordingly, dangerous. The only thing that saves a person from this bacterium is gastric juice, the acidity of which is too high and does not allow the bacterium to develop and release the toxin.

Once spores begin to form, it is very difficult to contain their growth. They are difficult to remove even with 10 minutes of boiling. When canning food without boiling it (cold canning), spores can enter the oxygen-free environment of the food and quickly develop there. When consuming such food, toxins immediately enter the body. Eating a handful of contaminated beans is more than enough to kill a person. Not a single creature on earth is immune to this bacterium. Just one gram per kilogram of body weight of a spore-bearing bacillus guarantees the development of botulism and fatal outcome in any living creature. An adult elephant weighs 5.5 tons and will die in less than 3 days if 0.005454 mg of the toxin is consumed.

1. African Nomadic Ants - Strength in Numbers.

Let's face it. Africa is a very dangerous place on the planet, perhaps the most dangerous, where an incredible number of threats to human life lurk. Siafu ants are also known as nomadic ants, safari ants and legionnaire ants. They mainly live in central and eastern Africa, both in the jungle and in the savannah. They have no eyes. They interact and navigate by the smell of pheromones. They live in groups of 50 million individuals and lead a nomadic lifestyle. Insects change their place of residence every few years, leaving the bivouac (temporary nest) in search of more fruitful and rich lands.

While moving, the ants form peculiar columns: soldier ants protect worker ants from danger. Average length a mature ant is about 5 centimeters, but there are winged individuals with a more elongated body. Siafu are poisonous insects, but the substance released during the bite by the abdomen is not toxic enough to kill a large animal. The main weapon of nomadic ants is their jaws. Their power is enough to bite through even the thick skin of a rhinoceros. When a group of ants changes its location, all the animals in the area (reaching many square kilometers), including the honey badger, leave this territory and return only after a few weeks.

If one ant attacks you, you can throw it off and trample it with your shoes, but not a large colony. Ants don't play by the rules. If you get within 25 meters of a group of ants, they will smell you and start running to protect themselves. The ant's bite is impossibly painful, and if they smell blood, the only salvation is to run. It is useless to attack ants. Even when using a flamethrower, they choose a special tactic - they go around the fire or wait until the fire goes out and continue their attack.

They cannot run fast, and you will be saved if you can run away from them. They can overcome any animal, even a sick or wounded elephant, which cannot escape from them. Over the centuries they have killed many people, always their victims were children or wounded people who could not escape from them. Once they've mounted you, they're not that easy to get rid of. Other ants are afraid of water. Siafu ants are able to hold their breath for 3 minutes and continue to bite underwater. A group of ants can gnaw an elephant to the bone in just a month, and during this time no one and nothing, except bacteria, will be able to get close to the carcass. Vultures may try to sit on the carcass, but then they fly away, trying to throw the ants off their paws.

They are used by local people as a natural medicine. They take one ant, which leaves bites on both sides of the wound, then the body is clamped, leaving a fixed head with jaws. They have a poisonous sting, but they rarely use it. They kill prey, such as grasshoppers and small rodents, by biting them to death. They can overpower any animal by biting it and bringing it to agony. Small creatures, like insects, are torn to pieces. The ants climb into the animal's mouth and get to the lungs, biting everything that gets in their way, which leads to asphyxia.

The Gaya Jungle is a popular destination for extreme tourism and safaris, attracting tens and hundreds of wealthy people every year, eager for new experiences and testing their strength. Some of the tourists get into trouble and the sector administration has to equip rescue expeditions to search for them. Often such expeditions do not find anyone. Since such tragic incidents do not stop those who want to visit Gaia, and often even spur interest in it, this guide is designed to help you survive in the Jungle of Gaia and return home with trophies, and most importantly, safe and sound. // From the book “Super Adventure Survival” by Kir Virz.

Toxic atmosphere

The first and most important thing to remember when arriving in the Jungle is that everything around is poisonous to humans. In the Jungles of Gaia, even the air is poisonous. The atmosphere of the planet, even in favorable areas of the Arctic Circle or over the ocean, contains a number of oxides of nitrogen, carbon and sulfur, and organic compounds based on chlorine and phosphorus are found. In the Jungles of Gaia, heavy organic compounds are added to them (including organic acids and enzyme catalysts), many of which are toxic to humans and corrode a number of materials.

Therefore, the first and most important thing that a person who wants to visit the Gaia Jungle should remember is the presence of reliable protective equipment, which necessarily includes a full protective suit and an air regeneration system. As a last resort, it is permissible to use filter systems that are specifically certified to work in these conditions. It should be understood that without the use of special protective equipment, especially specialized means To regenerate air, a person in the Jungle of Gaia receives lethal damage to the respiratory organs and other tissues from vapors of toxic substances within a matter of minutes.

An exception to this rule is the special regions of Gaia: the northern Arctic and southern Arctic regions and territories over water, quite distant from land. Conditions in these regions allow local residents to work successfully at night wearing light protective equipment (usually limited to only filtered respiratory protection sufficient to protect against inorganic and light organic vapors). However, tourists should remember average duration the lives of the local residents mentioned above and the fact that during the daytime even the Arctic regions are deadly for a person not protected by heavy protective equipment.

Jungle Monsters

The large active inhabitants of the Gaia Jungle ("monsters" as the local colonists aptly call them) are business card planets. Which tourist would refuse to get the skin of a slayta or hunt for gay vines? Tourists and safari participants should, however, remember that the “monsters” themselves will not mind snacking on an unlucky tourist. If we take into account the amazing vitality of some vines and their colossal strength, it becomes clear why you should not go on a safari without high-quality equipment, weapons, a competent guide and proper technical support.

Fans of extreme recreation planning to visit Gaya for the first time are not recommended to begin their acquaintance with the Jungle from the equatorial, subtropical or temperate zones, which are characterized by increased activity of vines and their size, as well as the presence of such “kings of the Jungle” as celestial whales. It is also not recommended to begin your acquaintance with “particularly extreme” independent outings. Instead, it would be appropriate to visit the Arctic latitudes or take a short excursion in a relatively developed region as part of a group and with an experienced guide.

When meeting large aggressive inhabitants of the Jungle, you should evaluate their degree of danger and attention to your person. It is also very important to be able to estimate the number of creatures and their location - since some inhabitants of the Jungle hunt in packs. An incorrect estimate of numbers or location can lead to a surprise attack by "monsters" from an unexpected direction.

In any case, if you spot a “monster,” do not approach it under any circumstances! The fact is that some large aggressive organisms are able to hunt or defend themselves from attack using a spray of caustic sticky substance (usually including a mixture of digestive enzymes and/or biological toxins of varying strengths).

After assessing the threat posed by the creature, you must decide how to handle the situation. In most cases (if you are part of a well-armed group, and the creatures discovered are few or moderately dangerous), the best thing to do is to use weapons and collect well-deserved trophies, if any interest you. However, in some cases, it may be wiser to try not to draw too much attention to yourself. This is especially true for large aggressive vines that are busy with their activities, especially in cases where you are behind the group, have lost your weapon, or are forced to conserve the charge of its batteries.

Carnivorous vegetables

Some relatively large, sedentary (as opposed to mobile vines) forms of quasi-plant life in the Jungle hunt and reproduce by spraying sticky digestive enzymes or sharp, fast-flying, spiky seeds. Typically, such plants burst from time to time or when large living creatures approach them, which they consider as potential food or free transport for their seeds. In a reproduction situation, large Gaia animals and active plants simply transfer seeds attached to their surface to new places, sometimes hundreds of kilometers from the parent plant. However, for a person, ingestion of such a spiky plant blistula, which can weigh up to hundreds of grams, is often fatal or leads to severe injuries.

If you do not want to join the ranks of unlucky colonists killed by thorns or the caustic digestive enzymes of carnivorous vegetables, always wear an armored suit of proper quality in addition to your protective suit. Such a spacesuit will protect you from “minor” flying troubles, and it will also come in handy if you, going hunting as part of a group, accidentally come under fire from a careless companion.

Claysterone

Any sticky colored substance in the Jungles of Gaia should be avoided whenever possible. Such a substance (“claysterone” in the terminology of local colonists) is a bizarre cocktail of organic acids, enzyme catalysts, various toxins, or is a breeding ground for a number of pathogens of various infectious diseases. It should be noted that for a dangerous infection to occur, just one drop of “claysterone” gets on human skin. It should also be remembered that claysterone easily corrodes (or, in some cases, “grows” through) a number of materials, including some popular composite fibers from which the armor protection of spacesuits is made. Therefore, before going out into the Jungle, you should make sure that the outer layer of your spacesuit is covered with a special protective layer that is resistant to local organic matter.

Infectious diseases

The Gaia Jungle is inhabited by a number of pathogens that cause various infectious diseases. Sporological diseases are the scourge of the local population, no less than migrations and attacks of the Jungle.

However, as long as you keep your protective suit and mask on and are careful, you have nothing to fear. Just in case, remember - at the first signs of illness, you should immediately contact a qualified specialist in local diseases.

Poisonous fruits and insects

It should always be remembered that most of inhabitants of the Jungle and their fruits are poisonous to human body. Guyanese delicacies - (delishas) - served to the table of the aristocracy, undergo careful testing and processing in order to ensure that the fruit is edible and free of harmful toxins and pathogens. It should be remembered that many Guyanese creatures are capable of mimicry, and only experienced specialists armed with the most modern equipment can distinguish an edible fruit from its poisonous counterpart. The dubious entertainment of eating untested local fruits is best left to local residents. We, wealthy residents of the civilized planets of the Federation, do not need to risk our health in order to save an extra thousand or two credits on “cutting off mold.”

You should also stay away from Guyanese insects and other representatives of the so-called. plankton. While many insects appear harmless and are welcome keepsakes, many are poisonous and ready to sting the unlucky collector.

Swamp

The Guyanese swamps are a very dangerous and disastrous place. You can get into the swamps either by making a pedestrian or all-terrain raid on the surface of the planet, or by landing in an unexplored place. It is for this reason that landing in unknown places is strictly not recommended - the Guyana swamp can literally swallow an entire boat or even a light cruiser in a matter of minutes. As for the devices, they are not always able to correctly and timely identify a swampy place under dense multi-tiered vegetation, as well as distinguish a shallow wet area from a real and deep swamp.

If you find yourself in a swampy place, you should immediately and extremely carefully get back out. Such moments will require the utmost effort and attention. Never, under any pretext, give in to persuasion to “go through the swamp along the explored safe path”; it is better to immediately turn back and even complete the excursion than to end up in the Guyana swamp.

Specifics of communication in the Jungle

Modern means of communication work very poorly in the conditions of the Gaia Jungle. Therefore, do not be surprised if your communicator constantly loses contact with satellites and the communicators of your companions. It's hard to believe, but sometimes communicators stopped seeing each other at distances of hundreds of meters. If in the Jungles of Gaia you urgently need communication with a satellite (for example, an ansible of an orbital station), then you should find an opportunity to go to an open or at least elevated place.

Safari equipment

The most important element of your safari equipment will be a lightweight diving suit (protective suit) made of material that completely insulates the person from external environment and resistant to external organic matter, as well as a means of air regeneration.

At present, the best are considered to be suits made from a special resistant material “Heptivek Microfilarment”, lightweight, durable, guaranteed to protect against active biosubstances (the so-called “claysterone”), resistant to the infiltration of harmful organic and inorganic substances of nanoscopic size. These spacesuits are also equipped with a ventilation system that ensures their comfortable long-term wearing and are available in a wide variety of colors (for any climate zone) and standard sizes.

As a means of regenerating air and protecting the head and face from the adverse effects of the environment, military and rescue helmets should be preferred. Out of habit, they may seem unnecessarily heavy and even interfere with visibility, but it should be remembered that no other means (including those used by the colonists of the Arctic for night work filtering protective masks"Colonist") do not provide adequate protection from the toxic atmosphere of Gaia, and reliable outer space helmets are not intended for use on the surface of biologically active planets.

It would be extremely useful, if not mandatory, to have a heavy armored suit or other means of armor protection in addition to a light protective suit. It is recommended to use armored suits with the largest surface area of ​​protection, possibly to the detriment of protective properties: the vast majority of animals and plants on Gaia are not able to penetrate even a light military suit of the lowest classes of kinetic and thermal protection; and even from the largest representatives (whales, giant vines) it often does not save light equipment, not to mention personal protective equipment.

It is extremely important to have communications equipment with you, a supply of water and food in your suit's food system. You should definitely have several powerful light sources with which you can attract the attention of rescuers, scare away or distract the small “monster” and look around the area. Local residents say that the bright light scares off the largest and most aggressive representatives of the Jungle's quasi-fauna, which attack miners at night.

And of course, you shouldn’t forget about the goal of your safari - getting trophies! This means that you will need a weapon. Take only powerful and accurate energy weapons with you. Leave old models of weapons (kinetic small arms), light hand-held models (hand blaster, low-power laser emitters, etc.), as well as models that are not capable of automatic fire, to local residents. The ideal option would be a pulse weapon (its compact versions) and AM weapons. Don't forget to also bring as many high-capacity spare batteries and a trophy bag as possible.

And, of course, you will need holographic recording equipment High Quality to capture such exciting and pleasant moments of your life!

Locals

Do not forget that Gaia is an actively developing planet with certain difficulties in administrative control over its contingent, problems with reliable communications and a number of other economic and administrative difficulties. Therefore, when communicating with the local population, you should be attentive and careful; it is highly recommended not to give out any information about the purpose of your visit or the planned route. If suspicious persons are detected (especially stateless persons), you should immediately report them to representatives of local law enforcement forces or other representatives of the administration.

It is highly discouraged to visit various dubious establishments in mining settlements. For the needs of tourists and safari participants, comfortable hotels and entertainment venues have been organized in all large settlements, and if you want to visit the “mining quarters,” the administration conducts inexpensive excursions with experienced guides and reliable, unobtrusive security.