Lost... In the Jungle of Doom (12 page)

Y
ou’re feeling shaky after your encounter with the otters and before long you’re hot and thirsty again, as
you continue down the river in the hazy sunshine. You start looking for a place to stop on the riverbank to find drinking water. As you search, you see something amazing! Barely visible under
some low-growing trees, there’s a small, battered-looking rowing boat!

Should you go over to the boat, which is moored in a tricky position, or stop a couple of hundred metres ahead, where there’s a beach. After all, the boat looks old and
could have been abandoned there.

If you decide to stop at the boat, click
here
.

If you decide to carry on, click
here
.

T
he tributary narrows and soon you have to use your stick as a punt as the current isn’t strong enough to carry
your raft along. It’s tiring work. Should you stop for a rest, and then turn around and go back the way you came? Or is it better to continue even though you’re hot and tired?

If you decide to stop, click
here
.

If you decide to carry on, click
here
.

Y
ou tie up your raft on the riverbank, then swim towards the otters, which are calling noisily to one another. As you
get closer, you realise they’re much bigger than any otter you’ve ever seen before. In fact, they’re huge – the size of an adult human! There are eight or nine of them in
the group and some of them are babies. Three of the adults are heading your way, swimming swiftly and strongly, making a low growling sound. You start to panic – maybe they’re worried
about their young?

They’re still some distance away. You turn and swim as fast as you can towards the raft, and clamber gratefully on to it. But the otters are still heading your way!
They circle the raft several times as you punt away from them, as calmly as you can.

These are giant river otters, which can be aggressive and have been known to attack and kill dogs. Although they’re not usually dangerous to humans, you were absolutely
right to get away from them as fast as you could!

Click
here
.

Click
here
to find out more about giant river otters.

Giant River Otters

• Giant river otters are only found in South America in the Amazon, Orinoco and La Plata river systems.

• They look very similar to a European otter, with one major difference – they are up to 1.8 metres long!

• The otters feed mainly on fish, but also eat crabs and snakes, and the occasional small caiman.

• They are also known as ‘river wolves’, and sometimes hunt together as a pack.

• Giant otters do sometimes attack dogs, but they’re not usually a danger to people.

• These otters have a lot more to fear from people than we do from them. They’ve been hunted so much that they are now extremely rare.

Click
here
to return to your adventure.

Y
ou sit down on a log feeling weak and sorry for yourself. After a while, you feel a bit better. You spot a stand of
bamboo not far away and decide to find some water in the stems to quench your thirst.

You’re shaking the stems, listening out for a sloshing sound that tells you there is water in the bamboo, when you spot a big, hairy spider only ten centimetres or so
from your hand. You think it’s probably a tarantula, and you know they aren’t aggressive. Even if they do bite, their venom isn’t dangerous.

If you decide to ignore the spider and carry on your search for water, click
here
.

If you decide to go in search of some other bamboo, click
here
.

Y
ou continue down the river on your raft, looking out for signs of habitation as you go. You’re sure that if you
carry on downstream for long enough, you’ll find people.

It’s not long before there’s a choice ahead of you as the river splits into two. Which route should you take?

If you choose the smaller of the two rivers, click
here
.

If you choose the broader river, click
here
.

Y
ou were right to be wary of the big hairy spider amongst the bamboo. Tarantulas aren’t aggressive and their bite
isn’t serious, but Brazilian wandering spiders, one of which you’ve just met, are aggressive and highly venomous.

Luckily it’s not long before you see some more bamboo, where you get some drinking water, after checking carefully for spiders first.

Click
here
.

T
he river current carries you on. You gaze at the banks of the river, which are densely forested. However, soon you
begin to see signs that make you hopeful! Trees are growing in regular lines, as if they’ve been planted and you spot a small boat moored to the bank! You can’t see any people about .
. . but surely they can’t be far away?

Click
here
.

T
ired, hot and sweaty, you tie up your raft on the bank, and sit down on a log for a rest, where there are a few ants
milling about. Suddenly you feel the most intense, blinding pain in your leg! It’s agony! It happens again – and again! It’s the ants!

You sink to the floor, writhing in pain, where more of the ants bite you. The ants’ venom isn’t enough to kill a person, but in your weakened, dehydrated state,
with no one to help you, you pass out and die from dehydration.

The end.