Catch and kill a snake for food

Bear Grylls offers expert tips

Catch and kill a snake for food

Michelin starred grub isn’t easy to come by when stranded in a desert, so sometimes a snake will have to do. Our favourite survivalist Bear Grylls (The Bear Essentials is available on Apple App Store for £3.99) tells us how to catch prey even Indiana Jones wouldn't touch.

“Often snakes are found under rocks but under no circumstance reach under one with just your hands. Instead find a branch that you can drag it out with.”

“Use a rucksack or something to cover the hole with while you go to find a stick and once you have one, you’ll need a decent sized rock in your other hand to kill it with. “

“When you lift the rucksack you’ve got to act fast. After you’ve coaxed it out you want to go straight for its head with the rock, hitting it hard with repeated blows.”

“After you’ve killed it you shouldn’t take any chances – still with it pinned down, cut the head off as that’s where any poison would be. You can then either bury or burn the head and the rest is good to cook and eat.”

Marc Chacksfield
Content Director

As Content Director of Shortlist, Marc likes nothing more than to compile endless lists of an evening by candlelight. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.