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Hunter Reg Foggerdy Survives 6 Days Lost In Australian Outback By Eating Ants

By Lindsay McCane
Published on: 03:36 PST, Oct 13, 2015

An amazing story of survival emerged after a hunter named Reg Foggerdy survived six days lost in the Australian Outback by eating nothing but black ants.

According to a report by The Guardian, the 62-year-old hunter was found by police about 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 13. He had apparently been lost in the desert in central Western Australia for six days before his discovery, 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) from where he was last seen.

Foggerdy and his brother had been hunting in an area 170 kilometers (105.6 miles) east of Laverton on Rason Lake Road. On Wednesday, October 7, he left the Shooter’s Shack campsite with his rifle, heading out to hunt the feral camels that roam around Australia. When he left, he was only wearing shorts, a T-shirt, thong sandals, and a baseball cap. He had no food or water on him at all.

Superintendent Andy Greatwood said a Tactical Response Group (TRG) discovered Foggerdy, who was severely dehydrated and survived solely by eating black ants. “[He was] extremely dehydrated, a bit delusional, but he’s received treatment, first aid, on the ground and it’s fair to say he’s now sitting up and talking, so it’s looking very positive,” Greatwood told 720 ABC Perth.

“His last couple of days of survival were achieved by lying down under a tree and eating black ants, so that’s the level of survival that Mr Foggerdy has gone to. [He had] no water whatsoever for six days.”

Greatwood went on to commend Foggerdy for his amazing survival skills. He had no equipment on him whatsoever except for his clothing and his rifle, but somehow, he managed to survive. “He didn’t have any equipment. It was just the circumstances of how he had gone out taking off after a camel and then became disorientated and lost,” Greatwood said. “[He had] fantastic survival skills.”

Police believe Foggerdy had shot and killed a camel before becoming disoriented. They said its carcass was the central point of the police-coordinated land and aerial search, which led them to Foggerdy. When he didn’t return to camp by Thursday, October 8, Foggerdy’s brother drove over one hundred miles to Laverton, where he managed to get enough cell phone reception to call and report him missing.

Laverton Shire president Patrick Hill said he was concerned about the wild hogs getting a hold of the hunter before he was found. He said they are a major problem in Australia, and he described them as being “vicious,” The Australian reports.

“I saw five of them bring down a bullock,” Hill said, adding that it was very hot while Foggerdy was lost, and the whole town felt sorry for him being out there with no water.

On Monday, October 12, a member of the Tactical Response Group discovered a single fresh footprint that led them to the tree where Foggerdy had found refuge from the heat. At approximately 7:00 a.m., he was flown by helicopter to the Tropicana gold mine to meet a Royal Flying Doctor Service plane. He was then flown to a Kalgoorlie hospital earlier today where he is being treated for dehydration and is listed as being in stable condition.

“Obviously it will emerge how it did that and how he achieved that, but it’s fair to say it’s been extremely hot, extremely remote and most people would not have survived so he’s done a fantastic job,” Greatwood said.

[Photo via Twitter]

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