TRG were assisted by local Aboriginal Trackers to locate Mr Foggerdy. Wearing thongs added to degree of difficulty. pic.twitter.com/TwsbB9GH9D
— WA Police (@WA_Police) October 13, 2015
An Australia hunter survived six days in the outback by eating ants. Rescuers found 62-year-old Reg Foggerdy dehydrated, disoriented and a little delusional, but luckily alive.
Foggerdy told rescuers who found him under a tree that he had no food and no water for the entirety of the six days he had been missing, only surviving off of black ants that he scraped off the dirt, according to The Telegraph.
Foggerdy had been hunting with his brother when he walked off from the camp and got disoriented, according to a press release. The location where a tracking team found him was less than 10 miles from the pair’s hunting camp.
He apparently took off after a camel without any equipment and only wearing shorts, shirt and flip-flops on his feet.
“[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,” Superintendent Andy Greatwood told 720 ABC Perth.
“Reg had fantastic survival skills … it has been extremely hot, it’s extremely remote and most people probably wouldn’t have survived, so he’s done a fantastic job,” he said.
This shooters shack was used as a command post for the search for Mr Foggerdy #polair #swaggingit pic.twitter.com/NwlFi24WIO
— WA Police (@WA_Police) October 13, 2015
Foggerdy’s wife Arlyn called the circumstances a miracle.
“How you can survive without water and food is a miracle,” she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
His sister-in-law Susan told The West Australian Newspaper that the entire family was relieved. “It’s been an emotional week. It’s amazing,” she said. “He has a lot of experience in the bush and it’s all paid off.”
The search was aided by a team of talented trackers, one of whom received a lucky break that led to Foggerdy’s eventual discovery. One rescue worker Robin Smythe was driving slowly along a road and spotted a set of footprints he just knew were left by someone wearing flip-flops, according to The Western Australian Newspaper.
As they followed the tracks, rescue crews could apparently make out where he dragged his rifle, where he sat down for the night and that he was likely dragging his feet as he walked.
“I don’t think anyone gave up at the end of the day, but certainly you have concerns when people are out in the bush for such a long time,” said Kalgoorlie Supt Andy Greatwood.
