a. Probably not. Surprisingly, rainwater seldom falls on tropical islands.

1. Part One: Before you begin your virtual tour, one designed to give you a way to second guess your survival on a tropical island, take this initial quiz. As always, write down a brief reason for your selected answer next to the quiz. Answer + reasons here please!  

2. 1. You will need freshwater to survive. Is there a chance that enough rainwater might fall on the island to drink?   a. Probably not. Surprisingly, rainwater seldom falls on tropical islands. b. Probably not. The rainwater near the open sea is salty and would harm us if we drank it. c. Probably, because it rains so much on a tropical island, but we might need some way to capture and hold it. d. Of course! It rains so much we could just open our mouths and drink from the downpour.

3. 2. Might we use the lagoon for anything that would help us to survive? • Of course! A lagoon would have the fresh water we needed to drink! • Of course not! A lagoon is only an inlet of the sea, and we would be drinking salt water – not good.

4. 3. Might we use the lagoon for anything that would help us survive? • During low tide, we could find small fish and crustaceans to cook. • During high tide we could find lots of bigger fish to cook.

5. 4. On our island, we can look out and see that there is a reef, and we could be safe if it is the kind that surrounds small islands. Hopefully… a. That would be a fringing reef. b. That would be a barrier reef. c. That would be an atoll/reef.

6. 5. Well, at least we can survive on coconuts. But since we can’t climb up to the heights of the palm trees, how can we tell which ones are good to eat? a. Choose one that is the least heavy, so you can carry it back to camp. b. Check the three dark spots at the top for slight leakage to make sure it is ripe and sweet. c. Shake it and listen for fluid; try to choose one with only a little fluid. Again, the less “milk,” the more sweet. d. Find a heavy “sloshy” one that is scored or cracked in the middle; it will be easiest to open.

7. 6. Building a fire may be difficult, but you do have your shoe strings. If you build a quick bow drill to start a fire, what will you need beside a spindle, a bow with string, and a flat board? a. We’ll need a rock to hold on top of the spindle as it spins. b. We’ll need a dry leaf to capture an ember from the wood. c. We’ll need some kind of kindling to catch fire from the ember. d. We’ll need all of the above.

8. 7. Someone in the group realizes that of all the birds out there in the forest, one sounds just like a screaming witch. That same bird can lead you to fresh water. Which would it be? a. Blue and Yellow Macaw. b. Keel Billed Toucan. c. Scarlet Macaw. d. St.Vincent Amazon.

9. 8. There’s a beautiful opening across a swift and dangerous river, but you could cross it by using the “creepers” hanging overhead. They’re everywhere. But one of you wisely points out that some are vines and some a lianas. Which one would you use to support your weight? a. Lianas – they are strong and full of twisted handholds. b. Vines – after all, Tarzan used them. c. Either one – a branch is a branch is a branch. d. Neither – we’d all die trying to cross.

10. 9. Feral pigs on the island might spell pork for dinner, but could also spell trouble if you run into them. What fact below is not accurate? a. They are most active at dawn and dusk, so be most wary then. b. The males can be especially aggressive with tusks and some real attitude issues. c. The females are usually small, under 10p pounds. d. They travel in families, so be careful not to expect one alone.

11. 10. Okay, so it’s been a bad week. You have to eat something (quit looking at each other!). Plants seem close at hand. But what is the one plant, according to the Universal Edibility Test, we should stay away from at all costs. a. evergreens b. mushrooms c. willow leaves d. flower

12. Answers! • 1. C, • 2. B, • 3. A, • 4. A, • 5. D, • 6. D, • 7. A, • 8. A, • 9. C, • 10. B