Bear Grylls

[Alfredo]

Hi all,
first of all, I'm a big fan of Bear. In fact I really enjoi his show, a lot of fun. For sure not all is true, at the end of the day his a TV show, but I recognize that this guy is tough and brave.
Now, my question is simple: may I could eat all the things that Bear eat? For sure I may eat snakes, or frogs or crawlers (I eat frogs and crawlers, actually), but Bear also eat insects larvae, scorpions, bugs, ant eggs etc.
It is possible to eat them safely, I mean avoiding parasytes or being seeks? I'm not asure about it.
What do you think about it? Do you have any references to address me?
Thanks, ciao
Alfredo

 

[JonathanD]

It's not wise to just eat anything unless you are desperate. Many parasites can be picked up from eating these if you don't cook them first. In most of Bear programmes he puts them in his mouth and chews, he doesn't actually swallow them but spits it out when the cameras have stopped rolling. Which is a wise thing.

 

[Alfredo]

It's not wise to just eat anything unless you are desperate. Many parasites can be picked up from eating these if you don't cook them first. In most of Bear programmes he puts them in his mouth and chews, he doesn't actually swallow them but spits it out when the cameras have stopped rolling. Which is a wise thing.

Hi J. If so, Bear is an irresponsible man, because lots of people belive on his suggestions, I guess. Don't you?

 

[therealmow]

http://www.daughtersoftiresias.org/bearwiki/Bad_Advice_and_Inaccuracies

fun show to watch though

therealmow

 

[JonathanD]

Well obviously most is staged. There was one scene he was picking 'maggots' from dead meat. In actual fact those 'maggots' were mealworms which don't eat flesh but flour and grain. They had obviously been bought in as they were safe to eat. You also have to consider hairs on spiders and scorpions that are designed as irritants and can be like fibre glass. Getting those lodged in your stomch and throat can be very bad, so you should only stick to species you know for a fact are safe. To eat any beetle you come across is very dangerous.

 

[andynic]

I compare ray and bear like Top gear and fifth gear. If i want to watch an entertainment show I watch top gear if i want to watch a car show i watch fifth gear. I take what bear says with a pinch of salt but watch it for the entertainment value. If i want to learn something useful i will watch Ray Mears.

 

[JonathanD]

Fair dos for popping that camel spider in his mouth though. It's pretty obvious he is avoiding actually chewing it or swallowing, but it's a step further than I'd ever go with one of those critters...

[video=youtube;cJRpXYs1pQA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJRpXYs1pQA[/video]

 

[JonathanD]

Most of it is designed to gross folk out. These are known safe larvae...

[video=youtube;zu3FlOksBjY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu3FlOksBjY&feature=&p=81EA4B9F7F2E70C5&index=0&playnext=1[/video]

 

[JonathanD]

Nuts, can't edit my post but meant to add:

Most of it is designed to gross folk out. These are known safe larvae, but he spits most of it out and there is a subtle cut as he appears to be swallowing it. He also makes a Freudian slip about eating it.... or not...

It's purely entertainment and that's all you should take from his shows.

 

[BarryG]

Its all about TV ratings, at the end of the day.
I dare say BG knows his stuff. He's just doing what the producers tell him to do, as would I, for that sort of dosh.

 

[Barn Owl]

Hi J. If so, Bear is an irresponsible man, because lots of people belive on his suggestions, I guess. Don't you?

I've always thought his shows to be rather irresponsible.

 

[Mastino]

I wouldn't eat what he eats; look what it did with his brains!

 

[WeThePeoplexfbm]

i'd like to see bear come to NSW endrick river he'd never make out of there, but he'd build a plane from a few bit of woood ^^

 

[FerlasDave]

Just remember that there is some good info there, just use your common sense as to what you think is good info though.

 

[santaman2000]

I've never watcher Bear so I don't know what he's doing. However some ants, spiders, scorpions can be eaten. The Amazon River Basin Indians eat scorpions and spiders (tarantulas) as part of their regular diet. That said, they know what they're doing. I don't. I do know that even they cook them first. As far as ants go, in South American Countries they are roasted and sold in bags at movie theaters like we sell popcorn. A little known fact is that most ant species don't harbor germs are spread diseases. Far from it. They actually exude a natural antibiotic to compensate for their crowded colonies. Again, I don't know enough about them to know which species of ants, apart from fire ants, which really aren't that safe to try to harvest anyway. The other thing to consider in a survival situation is how foreign is the critter from your usual diet? What I mean is even if it is nutritionally safe, it could still be so alien to your normal diet that you get diahrea. Is a couple of ounces of nutrition worth worth risking dehydration especially when in the wilderness?

 

[Limaed]

Well obviously most is staged. There was one scene he was picking 'maggots' from dead meat. In actual fact those 'maggots' were mealworms which don't eat flesh but flour and grain. They had obviously been bought in as they were safe to eat. You also have to consider hairs on spiders and scorpions that are designed as irritants and can be like fibre glass. Getting those lodged in your stomch and throat can be very bad, so you should only stick to species you know for a fact are safe. To eat any beetle you come across is very dangerous.

There was a good program on recently called 'Human Planet'. A group of children in the Amazon were catching and eating huge tarantulas. As you have said Jonathan the spiders release itchy hairs into the air as a deterant to predators. The kids who were about six just held them down with a stick, folded the legs up then carried them in leaf then BBQ'ed the spiders to get rid of the hairs. The kids seemed to be really enjoying the food, much better than a Mc D's I guess!

 

[toilet digger]

hmm i'd say it should come with a guidance rating stating ''adventure entertainment only''
saying that, i do watch it.. if only to yell ...........

SLOW DOWN YOU ****ING MUPPET ITS NOT A RACE!!!!!!! repeatedly.

what i do find the most worrying is that some one saw fit to make him chief scout?!!?!!?
but this i would say is due to a faith issue.

 

[rancid badger]

Mr. Bear is a super hero and everything he puts on his TV shows is absolutely real and true..........er............:
[video=youtube;3UpSlpvb1is]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UpSlpvb1is[/video]

As I say...........er.........super hero?

Well he's as real as a super hero!

 

[toilet digger]

clowns boot says i

 

[Puddock]

I think that anyone that actually encourages or energises youngsters to get out and enjoy the great outdoors and away from their Playstations or XBoxes is a hero. Yes a lot of it is showmanship and done to attract ratings for the TV companies, however it also acts as a catalyst for people to start picking up books and learning for themselves.

There will always be people who follow through on things they see on TV without proper thought, be it on Top Gear, Eastenders or Bear Grylls. The truth is that if you have the right training and the right equipment you can do lots of things that those without can not. Sometimes you need to step back and apply a bit of common sense and have a bit of a reality check.

It's because of Bear that I (we) started getting into Bushcraft, albeit I am very much a beginner in the art. My Son who is autistic loves Bear, and has constantly badgered me to "go on adventures" and camp in the wild. So we now own a tent and some basic outdoor equipment and because of Bear we go prepared with what we might need to survive, even though I hope that we will never need to.....and I am going camping for the first time since I was a Scout 20 years ago.

We perhaps can't call ourselves bushcrafters yet, but hey we are trying

It's easy for people to knock Bear but anyone who has made SAS selection, recovered after breaking their back and reached the summit of Everest deserves respect!