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Four children (ages 13, nine, five, and one) lost in the Amazon rainforest after a plane crash were found alive after 40 days. Their father also survived but was separated from the children, and their mother was killed in the crash. Rescue crews described the attempt to find the children as searching for “a tiny flea in a vast carpet, because they keep moving.”
How did these incredible children survive for so long in a dark, dense jungle full of predators that’s prone to intense rainstorms and populated by armed militant groups?
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The Children Were Trained for Survival
The children of the Mucutuy family are members of the Huitoto indigenous group.
Huitoto people learn hunting, fishing, and gathering from an early age, and their grandfather Fidencio Valencia told reporters that the oldest children, Lesly and Soleiny, were well acquainted with the jungle.
Speaking to Colombian media, the children’s aunt, Damarys Mucutuy, said the family would regularly play a “survival game” together growing up. “When we played, we set up like little camps,” she said.
Speaking of her 13-year-old niece, Lesly, Mucutuy added, “[She] knew what fruits she can’t eat, because there are many poisonous fruits in the forest. And she knew how to take care of a baby.”
Survival Tactic 1: Foraging
A key to the childrens’ survival was their familiarity with the rainforest’s fruits.
“There’s a fruit, similar to passion fruit, called avichure,” said authorities. “They were looking for seeds to eat from an avichure tree about a kilometer and a half from the site of the plane crash.”
The fruit from the avichure tree, also known as milk tree, is rich in sugar and can be chewed like gum.
The children also ate fruit from the Bacaba palm tree known locally as “milpesos,” which tastes similar to avocados.
Survival Tactic 2: Natural Protection
According to the children’s uncle, Fidencio Valencia, the kids hid in tree trunks to protect themselves in a jungle area filled with mosquitoes, snakes, and predators.
After the crash, 13-year-old Lesly used hair ties and branches to build makeshift shelters for her and her siblings.
Survival Tactic 4: Gathering Supplies
One indigenous man involved in the rescue effort told reporters that the children were found with two small bags containing clothes, a towel, a torch, two mobile phones, a music box, and a soda bottle—all supplies they’d gathered from the plane wreckage. The children also found cassava flour from the wreck, which they were eating to help them survive.
Currently Recovering
Now that the children have been rescued, they will likely stay in a hospital in Bogota, Colombia for at least two weeks. Reports said they are attempting to slowly give them food, but treatments are focused on rehydration first.
Would you be able to survive this long in the jungle? Tell us in the comments below.
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