It is well-established that water is absolutely vital for sustenance. When you’re out on a jungle safari, up against the elements, having a supply of water that is safe to drink is a matter of life and death. The body can realistically last three days without any water, so it is important not only to set out with ample reserves, but also to know how to get water from natural sources, and render it drinkable.
Locating a Source of Water
Depending on where you are, water can be super easy to find or completely non-existent. You’re going to have to find a source as quickly as you can. Freshwater sources can be lakes, ponds, streams, and creeks. Depending on your location and situation, water can be abundant or virtually non-existent. If you have the resources to distill water, salty and brackish water are alright as well.
Vacationing in the best Tadoba hotel is a lot of fun– they take you out on fantastic jungle safaris too. But if you split from your group and are stranded, things can go from bad to worse really fast. In emergencies, precipitation can be a blessing. You can collect rain, ice, dew, sleet, and hail as well. Any rain that doesn’t fall through a forest canopy is drinkable directly, as is new snow. In most areas, underground water from springs is fairly safe to drink. Any other sources, however, are dirty, and the water you get from them has to be purified before drinking, no matter how desperate you are. Here’s how.
Boil It
Boiling is a great, reliable process that can kill bacteria, parasites, and a bunch of other pathogens. It may not get rid of all chemical pollutants but is still a safe and relatively easy solution for disinfection. A rolling boil for five minutes is good for killing most germs, but you should do it for five more minutes for safety’s sake. If you’re at an altitude, you’re likely going to have to boil for a little longer because height affects the boiling point of water.
You can boil over any campfire or stove, using a ceramic, glass, or metal container. If you are not able to secure a fireproof container, then you improvise by using rocks heated for 30 minutes and placed in your water. You could use wood bowls, hides, folded barks, animal stomachs and the like as your container but don’t use flammable or explosive substances like river rocks and quartz.
Use UV Devices
UV light is very effective in killing small organisms. You can get battery-operated or hand-cranked devices that work perfectly and are great for carrying around the world. For reasonably clear water, this is a safe bet.
SODIS
Solar water disinfection or SODIS involves exposing transparent plastic bottles filled with water to the sun for a day or more. This takes advantage of the sun’s UV light to disinfect water. It’s really easy and entirely free.
Conclusion
Besides these, you can try tablets that are used for disinfecting water like iodine tablets and others that are readily available in the market. Always remember that finding drinkable water and disinfecting it must be your top priority in the wild. Do not skip over the disinfection process, because contaminated water might do more harm than good. These simple methods go a long way in ensuring your survival.
