Man vs. Wild (2006)
Bear strands himself in popular wilderness destinations where tourists often find themselves lost or in danger.
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Episode 1 - The Rockies
Release Date: 2006-10-27Host Bear Grylls parachutes alone into a remote area of the Rocky Mountains equipped with only the clothes on his back.
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Episode 2 - Moab Desert
Release Date: 2006-11-08Bear Grylls is dropped by a helicopter into the Moab Desert in Utah in almost 45 degree temperatures, with nothing but a knife, a canteen, and a flint. He battles dehydration by soaking his t-shirt in urine, and eats two raven eggs, one raw. Lastly, he demonstrates how to escape from quicksand before swimming across the Colorado River. He also explains how to use the flow of rivers as tools to find civilization.
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Episode 3 - Costa Rican Rain Forest
Release Date: 2006-11-17Grylls parachutes into a Costa Rican rainforest in the Osa Peninsula, with only his knife and a canteen. He's careful about the water he drinks, but gets violently ill anyway. He climbs down a waterfall using a vine, and floats down a river to the ocean on a raft he crafts out of balsawood to demonstrate how someone lost in the jungle can make it to civilization. He encounters snakes, mosquitoes and dangerous river currents.ve swamps.
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Episode 4 - Alaskan Mountain Range
Release Date: 2006-11-24Grylls is dropped in the Chugach Mountains in Alaska, with skis and his usual gear. He demonstrates Glissading as he traverses snow and glaciers, and climbs down a 200ft (61m) waterfall. He catches a salmon, which he eats raw, and finds a skiff from an abandoned lodge. The skiff sinks, but he reaches the shore and is spotted by a ship.
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Episode 5 - Hawaii – Mount Kilauea
Release Date: 2006-11-30Grylls is dropped by helicopter at the top of Mount Kilauea. Made up of an expanse of solidified lava which stretches for 33,000 acres, this environment is one of the world's most inhospitable. He first traverses lava fields, which catch his boots on fire, then heads into the jungles of Hawaii. Grylls uses a kukui nut torch to explore a lava tube and finds water, then uses smoke to placate a bee hive to get honey. Ultimately, he finds the sea (and people) by following seabirds.
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Episode 6 - Sierra Nevada
Release Date: 2006-12-08Grylls parachutes into the Sierra Nevadas, simulating the situation of the hundreds of hikers who become stranded there each year. Equipped with a knife and a canteen, Grylls travels through the alpine, woodland and chaparral areas of the mountains. He unsuccessfully tries to tame a wild horse, and eats a live snake. Using techniques gleaned from the Mono Indians, he brushes his teeth with a manzanita leaf. Most of the ground he covers is traversed by river, using a raft held together by grape vine.
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Episode 7 - African Savanna – Kenya
Release Date: 2006-12-14Grylls parachutes into the Sierra Nevadas, simulating the situation of the hundreds of hikers who become stranded there each year. Equipped with a knife and a canteen, Grylls travels through the alpine, woodland and chaparral areas of the mountains. He unsuccessfully tries to tame a wild horse, and eats a live snake. Using techniques gleaned from the Mono Indians, he brushes his teeth with a manzanita leaf. Most of the ground he covers is traversed by river, using a raft held together by grape vine.
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Episode 8 - European Alps
Release Date: 2006-12-22Grylls parachutes into the French Alps with a knife, a canteen, a cup and a flint, taking the parachute with him. He demonstrates how to survive falling into a frozen lake, how to build a snow shelter, and how to use a self arresting device to stop from plummeting into a crevasse. He also eats maggots and uses them to catch a trout. He performs a Tyrolean traverse and makes himself a pair of snow shoes out of young trees and parachute lines.
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Episode 9 - Deserted Island
Release Date: 2006-12-29Grylls is kicked out by helicopter into the water near a deserted island in the Pacific Ocean. He demonstrates long distance swimming, shelter building and coconut harvesting. Grylls builds a bamboo raft to look for ships, and is surrounded by tiger sharks. He fishes off his raft using a fish bone hook, and shows how to signal a ship using the reflection produced by his polished knife.
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Episode 10 - Everglades
Release Date: 2007-06-15Grylls drops into the swamps of Florida's Everglades, where at least 60 tourists need to be rescued each year. He trudges through the swamp and shows how to construct shelter, deal with razor-sharp sawgrass, get out of a muddy sinkhole and avoid alligators and rattlesnakes. He eats frogs and cooks a turtle Seminole-style.
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Episode 11 - Iceland
Release Date: 2007-06-22Grylls parachutes into the extreme landscape of Iceland, the site of vicious blizzard, 50 mph (80 km/h) winds, icy glacial waters, boiling hot mud and volcanic springs. He demonstrates how to make a snow cave, find water in volcanic underground tunnels and avoid frostbite. To find food in this subarctic environment, Grylls scavenges a sheep for its eyeballs and mutton fat, and catches a ptarmigan. He demonstrates with his shoelaces the boiling of the eyeballs and mutton in the geysers, to save digestion energy and disinfect the scavenged food.
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Episode 12 - Mexico
Release Date: 2007-06-29In Mexico, Grylls must find his way out of Copper Canyon, and his only supplies are a water bottle, a flint and a knife. He demonstrates how to build a simple compass and climb sheer cliffs safely. For shelter, he uses ancient caves and makes fire with a traditional "fire saw." Grylls also demonstrates techniques for finding scorpions or grubs and fishing without a rod or line.
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Episode 13 - Kimberly, Australia
Release Date: 2007-07-06In the Kimberley region of Australia, an area with a mixture of huge scrub deserts, dry riverbeds and red sandstone cliffs full of deep gorges, Grylls faces extreme heat, poisonous snakes and the ever present danger of dehydration. Survival tips include how to forage for food (bush tucker), build a shelter and how to prevent sunstroke. He explains why he believes drinking ones own urine can prevent death from dehydration. During his journey, Grylls observes saltwater crocodiles and endures a lightning storm.
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Episode 14 - Ecuador
Release Date: 2007-07-13Grylls paraglides onto the edge of the Andes and follows rivers into the Ecuadorian jungle, is attacked by huge colonies of spear-nosed bats[disambiguation needed], and observes giant weevil grubs and piranhas. He builds a bamboo bridge and a bow and arrow to successfully catch fish, but it doesn't always go his way and he's forced to ride the rapids of the Amazon on a single tree trunk.
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Episode 15 - Scotland
Release Date: 2007-07-20Grylls shows how to navigate the Cairngorms region in extreme weather using ice formations and moss growth, and how to test snow slopes for avalanche potential. He uses moss to purify water and skins a red deer for shelter. For food, he traps a rabbit and cooks it to demonstrate how to prepare it. Grylls also crosses deep marshes and uses fallen trees to cross ravines.