When mushroom-picking goes wrong…

Poor Irina Fedino, 37,  has been the centre of considerable interest in the Russian media this week after stumbling out of the forest after 24 days lost in the wilderness. Ms Fedino had been partaking in the annual Russian mushroom picking season near her home in the Urals when she lost her way. The problem is actually not an unusual one, with scores disappearing in the hunt every year and 70 this year alone, with 5 deaths. Most are found after just a few hours, but some are written off tragically, as bear food. In 2003, a mushroom craze swept the suburbs of St Petersburg with a bumper harvest and 120 people went missing in just one month. Mushroom picking clubs are not unusual, and large groups will head into the wilds equipped with maps, compasses and more recently GPS systems.

Irina survived by eating berries and of course mushrooms, stumbling through the forest in search of civilisation. She was terrified by the sounds of wolf howls nightly, and was rescued after she stumbled upon fresh car tracks which she followed to safety.