Hiker lost in mountains survives for a week by eating bees

A hiker has miraculously survived being lost in a US mountain range by eating bees.

Matthew Matheny survived six days and nights alone in the Pacific Northwest mountains after going missing.

The 40-year-old was found conscious but badly dehydrated in Ant Canyon by Washington state rescue workers.

The nurse and former boy scout’s survival skills of eating only berries and bees kept him alive, his parents Carney and Linda Matheny said.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Mrs Matheny said: “The bees were after him the whole time, so he killed them and ate them.

“He is interested in nutrition and health. We think that may have saved him. He never found water, but the berries must have been enough fluid to keep him going.”

She added: “He’s pretty overwhelmed at the rescue. He had reached a point where he had seen no one since last Thursday and he really started thinking this could be it.”

KPTV reported that Mr Matheny had set out on a hike on Thursday, wearing only shorts and flip flops.

He had set off without any supplies either, it was added.

Mr Matheny got lost along the mountain trail that he was walking down, but fortunately found shelter four feet down a ravine.

A huge search operation was launched for the hiker, after his Subaru Outback car was found on Saturday.

On Wednesday morning – after a search including hundreds of volunteers – he was found in the ravine about four hours walking distance away from his car.

Shaun Ford, head of the North Country emergency medical services team, said rescuers were able to start him on IV fluids before he was flown to hospital in a helicopter.

“It’s very incredible that he survived,” said Ford. “The fact that he was in such good condition made it a lot easier to do the work at hand.”

Mr Matheny, from Ohio, is recovering from his ordeal in PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Centre in Vancouver.