Human beings are born with numerous natural instincts; yet, none is as basic as the instinct of survival. Humans are born to live and consequently they are born with the ability to survive. If one can find food, shelter, and water then one can survive in the wilderness. However, should one find themselves lacking one of these four components, one will not survive unless the void is compensated.

             It is a simple fact that if one does not eat then one will not live. However, finding food is much more complicated than it seems. "The methods for finding and getting hold of wild food in a particular kind of country usually require detailed local knowledge" (Bridge 270). Unfortunately, when in a survival situation detailed knowledge of an area and it"s edible plants is not always an asset. In addition, it is rare for one to have a fishing pole or any kind of hunting equipment. Thus, one might find oneself literally up the proverbial creek without a paddle. However, there are a few tips for finding foods and a few well-known plants that are edible. First of all, one must take advantage of one"s location. When a couple of Maurice and Maralyn Bailey were stuck on a raft for 117 days in the Pacific Ocean they took advantage of the ocean"s fish and turtles. Despite how gruesome they found killing turtles to be, they were driven by hunger and realized that extreme times called for extreme measures (Bailey 62). Unfortunately, it is harder to catch animals on land and thus one must find edible plants. Among the well-known edible plants are blackberries, black walnuts, cattail, daylily buds, hickory nuts, acorns, and morning glory leaves (Edible). However, it is often difficult to discern these edible plants from their poisonous peers. There is an ediblity test one can use when faced with this situation. One must simply take a plant and rub it on a sensitive part of your body, the inside of the wrist for example, and wait five minutes.