Those Times When Bear Grylls Was Caught Completely Faking It

Edward Michael “Bear” Grylls is a British adventurer who has been involved in a number of wilderness survival TV shows in both the United Kingdom and the United States. However, he has been accused of faking the material seen on his TV shows on more than one occasion, meaning that interested individuals might want to treat the information that he presents with a certain degree of skepticism.

Here are 5 times when Bear Grylls has been accused of faking it:

“Wild” Mustang

Given their size, it should come as no surprise to learn that horses can be rather dangerous animals when provoked. Their kicks with their hind legs are more than capable of inflicting serious injuries and even in the worst case scenario, fatalities. Furthermore, while their teeth have evolved for chewing on plant matter, their jaws possess more than enough strength to inflict serious crushing injuries. As a result, when an episode of Man vs. Wild called for Bear Grylls lassoing wild mustangs in the Serra Nevada, the crew chose to hire tame mounts from a local trekking station.

Man in Bear Suit

On another episode of Man vs. Wild, the plan was to stage a bear attack. At first, the crew decided to find a tame bear for the purpose but had to give up on that plan because they were unable to do so. As a result, one of the crew members dressed up in a bear suit in order to simulate a bear attack. Considering how dangerous even tame bears can be to incautious humans, this was for the best.

Volcano Special Effects

Once again, an episode of Man vs. Wild called for Bear Grylls to escape an active volcano by leaping over lava while avoiding poisonous sulfur dioxide gas. The whole incident had to be enhanced using special effects, with an excellent example being how hot coal and smoke machines were used to simulate the poisonous sulfur dioxide gas. Of course, this also raises the question of why someone attempting to survive out in the wilderness would want to venture so close to an active volcano in the first place, but by this point, it seems clear that Man vs. Wild was much more interested in excitement than in authenticity.

Not So Deserted Island

Finally, it is worth noting that one of the deserted islands shown on Man vs. Wild wasn’t so deserted after all. In fact, after the filming had finished up, Bear Grylls was able to get a good night’s sleep at the local motel instead of having to stay in his impromptu shelter. Suffice to say that a modern day Robinson Crusoe he was not, whatever the TV show might have told its viewers.

Rubber-Lined Pool

Bear Grylls’s other TV shows have not managed to escape the accusations of staging. For example, the opening episode on a season of The Island saw 13 participants attempting to find drinking water. They found it, but what wasn’t revealed to viewers was that the source of the drinking water was a rubber-lined pool placed there to make sure that no one died from dehydration. As a result, subsequent seasons of The Island now inform viewers about all of the staging methods used so as to stave off accusations of the crew faking it.