tncorgi
June 4th, 2003, 2:01am
explainer
Did Eric Rudolph Really Live on Lizards?
By Brendan I. Koerner
Posted Tuesday, June 3, 2003, at 2:12 PM PT
http://slate.msn.com/id/2083915/
Alleged serial bomber Eric Rudolph claims to have survived his first winter on the lam primarily by eating lizards. Is he fibbing, or could such a reptile-heavy diet really keep a man alive for months?
Almost certainly not, especially given the dearth of sizable lizards in the Western Carolina mountains. The region's most abundant species are classified as skinks and include the five-lined skink. These slender critters rarely grow longer than a man's hand and can weigh as little as a tenth of an ounce. Lizard meat provides about 50 calories per ounce, putting it on par with chicken. Assuming that Rudolph needed to consume a bare minimum of 1,500 calories per day—a very generous assumption, since winter survival is particularly grueling—he'd need to dine on nearly two pounds' worth of lizards each day. That's somewhere between 100 and 300 skinks, which means he'd have to spend virtually every waking moment turning over rocks and peering into rotted logs.
It's possible that Rudolph also incorporated salamanders into his diet, as the lizardlike amphibians are plentiful in the Southeast. Still, salamanders and lizards are hard to locate and capture, especially in the dense forest that Rudolph called home—salamanders in particular, as they are nocturnal. Wilderness survival experts recommend preying on frogs and snakes instead, since they're less skilled at evasive maneuvers. Rudolph would also have been well-advised to focus his lizard-hunting efforts on the early morning hours, when the creatures are sluggish because they've yet to receive adequate sunlight.
As an ex-soldier, Rudolph was likely familiar with the Army's survival manual, which contains tips on worst-case-scenario cuisine. The book clearly states that reptiles should be cooked thoroughly, as the raw flesh often contains dangerous parasites. On the plus side, cold-blooded animals don't carry blood diseases. And Carolina lizards aren't poisonous, so there's no need to worry about crunching into a venomous sac.
Although lizards are rarely eaten in the West, they frequently appear on menus overseas. The animals are considered a delicacy in China's Guangdong province, for example, though the government has been cracking down on wild-animal markets to discourage new disease outbreaks in the wake of SARS. In Vietnam, some species are believed to promote male virility, and roasted lizards are enjoyed in parts of Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. Americans who've sampled the flesh report that it tastes like chicken.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Outdoor survival expert questions suspect's claims
By Larry Copeland, USA TODAY
MURPHY, N.C. — Tom Brown does not think much of Eric Rudolph's skills as an outdoorsman.
Rudolph, who faces federal charges as a serial bomber responsible for two deaths and 150 injuries, told jailers after his arrest here Saturday that he sometimes ate raw lizards during his five years as a fugitive.
"Why would he eat them raw?" asked Brown, an expert on outdoor survival. "You never eat raw meat. There could be parasites. Especially when you can build hidden, smokeless fires."
Brown runs the Tracker School in Asbury, N.J., which teaches what he calls "primitive, purist survival." He was a consultant on the recent movie The Hunted, which stars Tommy Lee Jones as a tracker pursuing a fugitive in the woods played by Benicio del Toro.
Brown said Rudolph's description of how he stayed alive in the rugged woods would not impress true survivalists, but he said he doesn't doubt that Rudolph could have survived the way he claims.
Authorities said they have located two of Rudolph's base camps, including one in the Nantahala National Forest in this southwestern region. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the campsite includes interlocking slate stones, a fire pit that still held ashes and "pantries" dug into the ground that held large plastic containers of corn, beans and other grains.
Sgt. Lester White, a detention officer at the Cherokee County Jail in Murphy, said Rudolph told him he constantly moved from one camp to the other, staying put only when it rained. The details of his time on the run came during his casual conversations with jailers. Rudolph spent about 48 hours in a holding room at the jail after his capture. He was separated from other inmates. Jail officials were with him at all times.
Authorities are trying to find anyone who might have helped Rudolph hide from one of the nation's most intensive manhunts.
Former FBI agent Woody Enderson, who headed a task force that investigated the four bombings Rudolph is accused of, said he thought the fugitive survived by hiding in the mountains and gaining shelter in some of the area's many summer homes, which often stand vacant for months.
"We never had any evidence that he was receiving assistance from anyone," Enderson said. "But I am absolutely convinced that he did an awful lot of breaking into cabins. Sometimes whoever broke in would take a shower and shave. Nothing would be taken. Very few burglars break in just to shower and shave."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-06-03-rudolph-inside_x.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rudolph faced tough conditions while on the lam
By Jennifer Brevorka and Julie Ball
June 3, 2003 11:03 p.m.
http://cgi.citizen-times.com/cgi-bin/story/news/36113
MURPHY - Eating acorns and salamanders, Eric Rudolph spent the first four months of a five-year manhunt on the run, stopping only to catnap, never spending more than several hours in one location.
The skilled outdoorsman told officers at the Cherokee County jail he knew the hunt for him in 1998 was intense and he didn't want to take any chances.
"He said at first he didn't build any fires," said Sgt. Lester White, the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department officer who guarded Rudolph for 35 hours after his capture Saturday.
But as time went on, the fugitive became more brazen, hiding food in trenches and garbage cans at base camps he used for months at a time.
Federal agents continued to piece together Rudolph's five years in hiding Tuesday, focusing on a campsite in the Fires Creek section of the Nantahala National Forest.
"There were some indicators we recognized as being common to extended camping," said Russ Arthur, special agent with the U.S. Forest Service.
At a campsite up a steep mountainside, two holes apparently were used to store food, including dried corn and peas. A rope that might have been used to hang food remained in a tree.
Agents from the Forest Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the FBI used chain saws Tuesday to remove a section of a tree covered with plastic. Someone had taken what looked like a garbage can and cut a section to fit around the tree.
Did Eric Rudolph Really Live on Lizards?
By Brendan I. Koerner
Posted Tuesday, June 3, 2003, at 2:12 PM PT
http://slate.msn.com/id/2083915/
Alleged serial bomber Eric Rudolph claims to have survived his first winter on the lam primarily by eating lizards. Is he fibbing, or could such a reptile-heavy diet really keep a man alive for months?
Almost certainly not, especially given the dearth of sizable lizards in the Western Carolina mountains. The region's most abundant species are classified as skinks and include the five-lined skink. These slender critters rarely grow longer than a man's hand and can weigh as little as a tenth of an ounce. Lizard meat provides about 50 calories per ounce, putting it on par with chicken. Assuming that Rudolph needed to consume a bare minimum of 1,500 calories per day—a very generous assumption, since winter survival is particularly grueling—he'd need to dine on nearly two pounds' worth of lizards each day. That's somewhere between 100 and 300 skinks, which means he'd have to spend virtually every waking moment turning over rocks and peering into rotted logs.
It's possible that Rudolph also incorporated salamanders into his diet, as the lizardlike amphibians are plentiful in the Southeast. Still, salamanders and lizards are hard to locate and capture, especially in the dense forest that Rudolph called home—salamanders in particular, as they are nocturnal. Wilderness survival experts recommend preying on frogs and snakes instead, since they're less skilled at evasive maneuvers. Rudolph would also have been well-advised to focus his lizard-hunting efforts on the early morning hours, when the creatures are sluggish because they've yet to receive adequate sunlight.
As an ex-soldier, Rudolph was likely familiar with the Army's survival manual, which contains tips on worst-case-scenario cuisine. The book clearly states that reptiles should be cooked thoroughly, as the raw flesh often contains dangerous parasites. On the plus side, cold-blooded animals don't carry blood diseases. And Carolina lizards aren't poisonous, so there's no need to worry about crunching into a venomous sac.
Although lizards are rarely eaten in the West, they frequently appear on menus overseas. The animals are considered a delicacy in China's Guangdong province, for example, though the government has been cracking down on wild-animal markets to discourage new disease outbreaks in the wake of SARS. In Vietnam, some species are believed to promote male virility, and roasted lizards are enjoyed in parts of Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. Americans who've sampled the flesh report that it tastes like chicken.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Outdoor survival expert questions suspect's claims
By Larry Copeland, USA TODAY
MURPHY, N.C. — Tom Brown does not think much of Eric Rudolph's skills as an outdoorsman.
Rudolph, who faces federal charges as a serial bomber responsible for two deaths and 150 injuries, told jailers after his arrest here Saturday that he sometimes ate raw lizards during his five years as a fugitive.
"Why would he eat them raw?" asked Brown, an expert on outdoor survival. "You never eat raw meat. There could be parasites. Especially when you can build hidden, smokeless fires."
Brown runs the Tracker School in Asbury, N.J., which teaches what he calls "primitive, purist survival." He was a consultant on the recent movie The Hunted, which stars Tommy Lee Jones as a tracker pursuing a fugitive in the woods played by Benicio del Toro.
Brown said Rudolph's description of how he stayed alive in the rugged woods would not impress true survivalists, but he said he doesn't doubt that Rudolph could have survived the way he claims.
Authorities said they have located two of Rudolph's base camps, including one in the Nantahala National Forest in this southwestern region. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the campsite includes interlocking slate stones, a fire pit that still held ashes and "pantries" dug into the ground that held large plastic containers of corn, beans and other grains.
Sgt. Lester White, a detention officer at the Cherokee County Jail in Murphy, said Rudolph told him he constantly moved from one camp to the other, staying put only when it rained. The details of his time on the run came during his casual conversations with jailers. Rudolph spent about 48 hours in a holding room at the jail after his capture. He was separated from other inmates. Jail officials were with him at all times.
Authorities are trying to find anyone who might have helped Rudolph hide from one of the nation's most intensive manhunts.
Former FBI agent Woody Enderson, who headed a task force that investigated the four bombings Rudolph is accused of, said he thought the fugitive survived by hiding in the mountains and gaining shelter in some of the area's many summer homes, which often stand vacant for months.
"We never had any evidence that he was receiving assistance from anyone," Enderson said. "But I am absolutely convinced that he did an awful lot of breaking into cabins. Sometimes whoever broke in would take a shower and shave. Nothing would be taken. Very few burglars break in just to shower and shave."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-06-03-rudolph-inside_x.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rudolph faced tough conditions while on the lam
By Jennifer Brevorka and Julie Ball
June 3, 2003 11:03 p.m.
http://cgi.citizen-times.com/cgi-bin/story/news/36113
MURPHY - Eating acorns and salamanders, Eric Rudolph spent the first four months of a five-year manhunt on the run, stopping only to catnap, never spending more than several hours in one location.
The skilled outdoorsman told officers at the Cherokee County jail he knew the hunt for him in 1998 was intense and he didn't want to take any chances.
"He said at first he didn't build any fires," said Sgt. Lester White, the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department officer who guarded Rudolph for 35 hours after his capture Saturday.
But as time went on, the fugitive became more brazen, hiding food in trenches and garbage cans at base camps he used for months at a time.
Federal agents continued to piece together Rudolph's five years in hiding Tuesday, focusing on a campsite in the Fires Creek section of the Nantahala National Forest.
"There were some indicators we recognized as being common to extended camping," said Russ Arthur, special agent with the U.S. Forest Service.
At a campsite up a steep mountainside, two holes apparently were used to store food, including dried corn and peas. A rope that might have been used to hang food remained in a tree.
Agents from the Forest Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the FBI used chain saws Tuesday to remove a section of a tree covered with plastic. Someone had taken what looked like a garbage can and cut a section to fit around the tree.