Hunter lost in desert ate ants for 7 days

A missing man survived for six days without food and water in the Australian outback by eating black ants and sheltering under a tree.

At the time, Foggerdy had been on a hunting trip 170 kilometers (105 miles) east of Laverton on Rason Lake Road, when he left the campsite he was sharing with his brother last Wednesday in in Western Australia’s Goldfields region.

“His last couple of days of survival were achieved by lying down under a tree and eating black ants”, said Greatwood.

“It was extremely hot, extremely remote, and most people probably wouldn’t have survived”, Supt.

A paramedic immediately supplied Mr Foggerdy with intravenous fluid when he was found and he recovered quickly.

“The good news is he was sitting up and talking”, Superintendent Greatwood said.

She said: “Oh my god Dad you’re wonderful”.

Police have described this as a measured search, being very careful who they sent onto the scene so the footprints were not disturbed.

The former miner was airlifted by the Royal Flying Doctor Service for hospital treatment at Kalgoorlie Regional Hospital.

The Adelaide Advertiser reports that his wife Erlyn Foggerdy, 41, said one of the reasons why he was able to stay alive was down to him watching a jungle survivor show on Foxtel regularly.

Ants and other insects are highlighted as possible sources of nutrients by survival experts, and since Foggerdy is regarded by family and friends as an experienced bushman, it’s more than likely he was aware of that. His sister Christine Ogden told the West Australian she had a hunch her brother would be found today when she went to sleep last night.

On Tuesday morning, Reg Foggerdy was found by trackers over 100 miles from remote town of Laverton on the edge of the Great Victoria Desert.

She said waiting for news had been disgusting.