Unfortunately for most of us average joes, wilderness survival skills are not common knowledge. This means that if an everyday person were to find themselves stranded alone in the wilderness with only a few limited supplies, they would most likely die.

Luckily for all of us, survival expert Bear Grylls has hosted several television shows teaching ordinary people the skills and techniques they might need to stay alive.

Grylls’ first show, Man vs. Wild, consisted of him being transported to a remote region of the world with inadequate supplies. He would then show viewers the best way to stay safe in that situation.

However it has been uncovered that large parts of his show were scripted. Grylls would act out planned scenes instead of genuinely responding to dangers as they presented themselves.

In the article “Grylls Apologizes for ‘Fake’ Show,” BBC News reports that Grylls has admitted to having parts of the show faked and dramatized.

“’If people felt misled on how the first series was represented, I’m really sorry for that,’” Grylls told the BBC.

In another BBC News article, Mark Weinert, who helped as a survival consultant on the show told reporters that in an episode where Grylls was supposed to be stranded on a remote desert island, he was actually on an island in the Hawaiian archipelago.

According to the article, “A TV Survivalist Caught Cutting Corners,” by NY Times writer Mike Nizza, a Man vs. Wild consultant said that Grylls would frequently leave the area he was supposed to be surviving in to spend the night in a nearby hotel.

Another problem with the show is the decisions that Grylls makes. He typically takes the most dangerous path to get around an obstacle. Instead of spending 45 minutes walking around a large rock, Grylls will attempt to climb up the steep face and lower himself down the other side.

While this does save him a small amount of time, it is an incredibly risky choice to make in a survival situation. He knows that he will be helped by his crew if he is ever in trouble and that reassurance allows him to do unsafe things.

Additionally, Grylls’ show makes difficult wilderness survival seem like a stroll in the park. He conveniently finds everything he needs along the way.

In an episode of Man vs. Wild, Grylls is walking through the woods when he looks down and sees a set of deer antlers. For some reason, he decides to keep them in his pack and continue through the wilderness. Later on in the episode Grylls needs to cross a ravine and conveniently pulls the antlers out of his backpack to use as a grappling hook.

Not only is this unbelievably dangerous, but it seems unrealistic for him to always walk around with a backpack like Dora the Explorer.

One of the most unfortunate facets of the show is the way that the show has managed to trick so many of its viewers. A survey found that while only 53 percent of RCHS students have seen Grylls’ show, almost 57 percent of those who have believe that it depicts true events.

Viewers need to realize that Man vs. Wild is much like other reality shows. It is largely falsified and made up for entertainment. It should not be used as a real life survival guide. The show is not about a man doing real wilderness survival, but about a guy doing risky things in the woods.