My Journal of Survival in the Grasslands By Kayla Underkoffler

It’s All Your Fault How was the savannah made? Elephants of course! If you don’t believe me, take a geography course! Tramp, stomp, thrash and roar completely cleared the savannah floor! Now lay only dirt and rocks the only elements, if you want to blame someone, blame the elephants!

Day one: Excerpt from Kayla’s Journal I am in the middle of nowhere and I just got dropped off. It’s very warm and there’s no shade. Trees are scattered for miles. All I have is a hatchet and a first aid kit. I walked for about two miles and I was getting parched so I went to the nearest Baobab tree which holds gallons of water in it’s trunk. I will have to set up camp near by to save energy from chopping trees. I was chopping for about a half an hour when I felt my body going limp. I slid my back down on the tree and rested. My eyelids were getting heavy on me when I was jerked by the screeching whine of a Tasmanian devil. I forced myself up and started chopping for another hour and a half, when water sprayed all over my poncho. I cupped my hands and slurped the water out. I shoved a small stone in the hole to keep the water inside.

Day one: From Kayla's Journal (continued) I stepped back to get going again when I slipped on something. At first I didn’t know what it was until it tried to strike my leg. I jumped back not thinking, picked up my hatchet and sliced the snake. I felt scared not knowing what I had done. My heart was racing like a marathon. I looked at it and right away knew it was poisonous but the venom was in the head. I knew it was edible if I cut off the head. It was an Egyptian cobra because it had a had a head like a shield with yellow scales. I rapped the body in a palm leaf and set on the ground. I saw the sun setting so I picked up the snake and headed up the grassy hill.

Day one: night Day two: sunrise Day one I found a cave carved into the mountains. I spotted many palm leaves to use as a bed. I collected piles of dead grass to sleep on. Below the cave the brush was sparking. My heart stopped as I thought maybe there were hunters. I looked down to see it was only a brush fire. I knew I needed fire to survive so I grabbed some dry grass and lit it on fire to bring back to camp. I took the snake I had killed earlier and cut it into fourths to last the nights. I took a stick and scraped out the meat out of the skin, put it on a rock near the fire and watched it sizzle. I took a small bite and at that point it tasted like the best thing I had ever eaten. I finally got on my grass and leaf bead and went to sleep. Day two I don’t know what happened but I just woke up to a sound. The fire was crackling but just barley a spark. It was foggy and humid as I tried to keep the fire alive by blowing softly on it. A breeze came and swiped out the only light I had. As a minor miracle the sun was cracking over the baobab tree as a swarm of vultures swooped down like rockets tearing apart a rotting zebra. I need to get going because while I’m here, time is precious.

Day three: morning Last evening I woke up in the middle of the night to an acute pain in my lower abdomen. I crinched in pain as I saw a coffin shaped head and brown scales slither out of my den. I realized I had just been by the deadliest snake in the world: the black mamba. I knew it’s venom was 100% fatal if not treated. I injected the anti-venin as needed. I lie in my makeshift bed and reached over my limp arm for some cooked snake. It felt good in my stomach.

Day three: (continued) I am turning around in the way I feel about myself. I lay down as the savannah breeze tickled my skin. The long brush swept my bare feet as a flock of neon birds glided overhead. I could smell the evening greeting me. I took a deep breath and felt like a whole new person. I am a survivor.

Days 4 and 5 Day four I slept in today which was a terrible idea. An animal had stolen the remainder of my snake. I haven’t eaten a decent meal in days. I haven’t heard a Tasmanian devil in several hours either, which is a relief. The savannah is quiet as a ghost town. I thought I heard a sound but it was only a breeze blowing the trees. I need to spend the next few hours or even the rest of the day hunting for food and searching for water. Day five I was just awoken by the rumble of a helicopter as I looked at the sky. I could see Mrs. Dudek in the helicopter doorway looking quite air sick. I quickly climbed the ladder desperate to return to civilization. As I head for home, I sat back and thought about how lucky I was to have all of life’s conveniences at my fingertips. When I’m hungry at home, I search in my kitchen pantry. When I’m thirsty, I search no further than the refrigerator. I truly appreciate all that I have. Life is good.