A man who trailed behind his hunting companions and became lost spent 31 days alone in the Amazon, surviving on invertebrates and rainwater. His ordeal is being reported locally as a remarkable survival tale.
While hunting in northern Bolivia, 30-year-old Jonathan Acosta separated from four friends and wandered off into the forest. After losing contact with them, he endured a month in the Amazon, living on worms and other insects.
Acosta described eating worms and other creatures to stay alive and drinking rainwater collected in his boots. He also noted the need to avoid predators such as jaguars and peccaries, the pig‑like mammals common to the region.
When a search effort by locals and friends finally located him, he had shed nearly 17 pounds, sustained a sprained ankle, and faced dehydration. Yet, despite the injury and fatigue, he could still walk, aided by a limp he carried after his ordeal.
“This is unbelievable, I can’t believe people kept searching for this long,” the rescued man told those present, his voice breaking with emotion.
Throughout the 31 days, he subsisted on worms, insects, and fruits that resembled papaya, parts of the forest’s edible offerings that helped sustain him during the desperate stretch.
The brother of the survivor recalled feeling a sense of hopelessness, saying he thought his brother had little chance of being found and that there might be“one bullet left in his gun, and no one would be looking for him.”
Acosta reportedly used his final cartridge not to fire at danger but to terrify a pack of peccaries during a tense moment, a decision made within the stress of the wilderness escape. After enduring the ordeal, he resolved to abandon hunting altogether.
After wandering 31 days, he finally spotted the search party about 300 meters away and limped toward them through thorny brush, signaling and calling out to attract attention.
Police indicated plans to meet with four of Acosta’s friends to understand how the group’s dynamics contributed to his separation and subsequent survival story.