History Main / HungryJungle

** A slightly different theory is that the jungle can't be colonized by humans without agriculture, and that all "strict" hunter-gatherer tribes that live in jungles actually do some kind of small-scale itinerant agriculture and livestock rising (fowl, pygmy pigs, [[EatTheDog dogs]]) or get extra food from sedentary societies through trade. If true, this would mean hunter-gatherers actually didn't colonize the jungles until a few thousand years back. Sadly, rainforests are as bad for remains conservation as they are for working archaeological digs.

The jungle's inhabitants don't make it any better. There tend to be [[BarbarianTribe hostile natives]], {{cannibal tribe}}s, and [[CatFolk cat-]], and [[LizardFolk lizard-people]]. It's also home to [[SpidersAreScary spiders]], [[ScaryScorpions scorpions]], [[CreepyCentipedes centipedes]] and other dangerous arthropods, both the normal-sized and [[BigCreepyCrawlies giant]] variety, [[SnakesAreSinister poisonous and large constricting snakes]], [[PantheraAwesome tigers, leopards, and other large cats]], [[ManiacMonkeys aggressive monkeys]] and [[KillerGorilla apes]], some of which are [[KingKongCopy gigantic]]. The jungle's lakes, rivers, and swamps are full of [[NeverSmileAtACrocodile crocodiles]] and [[PiranhaProblem piranhas]]. There are even [[LivingDinosaurs dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures]] in [[LostWorld extreme cases]]. [[ManEatingPlant Even the plant life is liable to try to take a bite out of you]], and let's not even mention what the [[FesteringFungus local fungi]] can do. And even the nonliving environment is full of danger, from [[QuicksandSucks sand traps]] to [[InevitableWaterfall waterfalls with sharp rocks on the bottom]].

** ''Film/{{Predator 2}}'' describes the city setting as a "concrete jungle" portraying the dangerous city in much the same manner of the harsh jungle.

** Heinlein's ''Literature/SpaceCadet'' has Venus as a swarming, hideous jungle in which humans cannot survive unprotected except at the poles.

If you're an author; see SoYouWantTo/WriteAJungleOpera

See also SwampsAreEvil, DontGoInTheWoods, and JungleOpera. Closely related to RiverOfInsanity. Sort of like the ThirstyDesert, though the similar names are coincidental. For places commonly depicted this way, see DarkestAfrica and the less urbanized versions of HolidayInCambodia. See also JungleJapes for jungle-inspired video game levels.

** The jungle of isle of Mata Nui are crawling with all sorts of rahi. Many are hostile to the Matoran, and pose even a great threat to the Toa. Especially since Makuta is the one controlling them.

** ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'': ''Traitor General'' takes place on the planet Gereon. The [[EldritchAbomination Chaos]] influence drives the Ghosts team slowly insane, pitting them against each other uncharacteristically, and that seems pretty bad already... then they're forced to flee into the "Untill", a massive, unmapped swamp filled with ''moths'' so poisonous that merely brushing against them causes instant death.

* The protagonist of Creator/LeoFrankowski's ''Literagure/ConradStargard'' series faces this when attempting to explore Africa in ''Conrad's Search for Rubber''. After the massive death incurred by both the explorers and the natives, Conrad vows to do no more exploration until he'd found a solution. [[spoiler:His relatives from the future then proceed to come down from the heavens and give him [[DeusExMachina a solution to his problems]].]]

* The protagonist of Creator/LeoFrankowski's Cross Time Engineer series faces this when attempting to explore Africa in ''Conrad's Search for Rubber''. After the massive death incurred by both the explorers and the natives, Conrad vows to do no more exploration until he'd found a solution. [[spoiler:His relatives from the future then proceed to come down from the heavens and give him [[DeusExMachina a solution to his problems]].]]

* ''Fanfic/TheFlightOfTheAlicorn'': The Impassable Lands are a gigantic, trackless stretch of jungle and swamp at the southern edge of the known world. Their name derives from the fact that no expedition has successfully crossed them -- indeed, it's not even certain how large they are. The jungle's weather and wildlife operate entirely on their own, unlike the ones in settled lands that are controlled and direct with magic, and, after Rarity crash-lands in its depths, she finds it to be full of stifling heat, biting flies and dense, impassable undergrowth, and filled with dangers such as trees hosting colonies of flesh-eating insects and waters teeming with voracious predatory fish. However, it also home to things such as flowers with magical healing properties, prompting occasional attempts to penetrate and study it.

* Creator/AAPessimal's ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' adventure ''Bungle In The Jungle'' deals with a brief and nasty border war in [[DarkestAfrica Howondaland]]. Among other things, an Assassin most used to cities is utterly appalled when a colleague with far more experience of these environments goes into detail about all the things that could kill you or else leave you seriously inconvenienced.
** In ''Fanfic/GapYearAdventures'', the Heart Of Insufficent Light is visited by two backpacking holidaymakers.
* A sidestory of ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'' titled "Shadows of the Jungle" takes place in one, where an expedition sent by Giovanni to Guyana in search of Mew leads the explorers deep into the turf of hordes of murderous [[BigCreepyCrawlies Bug-type Pokémon]]. The only thing they found was the leader's ApocalypticLog, which told the story about how each one of the team members disappeared or was killed by the vicious bugs, until he himself ended up trapped in a pit to be devoured, as told by the final entry.
* The setting of the first story in FanFic/TheVinylAndOctaviaSeries, ''Vinyl and Octavia Machete Their Way Through The Jungle''.

When not a run of JungleJapes, the jungle is a harsh and hostile place, [[EverythingTryingToKillYou frequently deadly for its denizens, but even more ferocious to outsiders no matter what gear they bring with them]]. This jungle is treated as a semi-sentient entity; a soup of [[GeniusLoci consciousness]] composed of the ferocity of its native life and climate. And it ''hungers''. It devours sane minds with its stifling and claustrophobic atmosphere, infecting all who enter with a slow, creeping madness in an effort to make them its own. This same climate breeds fetid decay and disease, which likewise infests the body. On top of this, the marvels of modern technology count for ''nothing''. The humidity of the jungle devours advanced technology in a trice. Keeping anything working is a constant, day-to-day struggle to keep up with the jungle's ruination, which further wears at the sanity and morale of any who try it.

If you’re a JunglePrincess, you will most likely be a DamselInDistress who spends the majority of the story almost being eaten or tied to a stake until the TarzanBoy NatureHero comes. After all, this is a great place to be CapturedByCannibals.

See also SwampsAreEvil, DontGoInTheWoods, and JungleOpera. Closely related to RiverOfInsanity. Sort of like the ThirstyDesert, though the similar names are coincidental. For places commonly depicted this way, see DarkestAfrica and the less urbanized versions of HolidayInCambodia.

If you’re a JunglePrincess, you will most likely be a DamselInDistress who spends the majority of the story almost being eaten or tied to a steak until the TarzanBoy NatureHero comes. After all, this is a great place to be CapturedByCannibals.

* Dxun, which appears in ''Franchise/{{Star Wars|Expanded Universe}}: VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic II: [[ColonCancer The Sith Lords]]'' and in related ''Star Wars'' material, is entirely covered in jungle and rainforest infested with a rich and varied assortment of vicious alien predators, and has a pervasive hot and humid climate that makes technology break down very quickly unless constantly maintained. It's not known as the [[IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace Demon Moon]] for nothing.

The jungle's inhabitants don't make it any better. There tend to be [[BarbarianTribe hostile natives]], {{cannibal tribe}}s, and [[CatFolk cat-]], and [[LizardFolk lizard-people]]. It's also home to BigCreepyCrawlies, [[SnakesAreSinister poisonous and large constricting snakes]], [[PantheraAwesome tigers, leopards, and other large cats]], [[ManiacMonkeys aggressive monkeys]] and [[KillerGorilla apes]], some of which are [[KingKongCopy gigantic]]. The jungle's lakes, rivers, and swamps are full of [[NeverSmileAtACrocodile crocodiles]] and [[PiranhaProblem piranhas]]. There are even [[LivingDinosaurs dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures]] in [[LostWorld extreme cases]]. [[ManEatingPlant Even the plant life is liable to try to take a bite out of you]], and let's not even mention what the [[FesteringFungus local fungi]] can do. And even the nonliving environment is full of danger, from [[QuicksandSucks sand traps]] to [[InevitableWaterfall waterfalls with sharp rocks on the bottom]].

The jungle's inhabitants don't make it any better. There tend to be [[BarbarianTribe hostile natives]], {{cannibal tribe}}s, and [[CatFolk cat-]], and [[LizardFolk lizard-people]]. It's also home to BigCreepyCrawlies, [[SnakesAreSinister poisonous and large constricting snakes]], [[PantheraAwesome tigers, leopards, and other large cats]], [[ManiacMonkeys aggressive monkeys]] and [[KillerGorilla apes]], some of which are [[KingKongCopy gigantic]]. The jungle's lakes, rivers, and swamps are full of [[NeverSmileAtACrocodile crocodiles]] and [[PiranhaProblem piranhas]]. There are even [[LivingDinosaurs dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures]] in [[LostWorld extreme cases]]. [[ManEatingPlant Even the plant life is liable to try to take a bite out of you]], and let's not even mention what the [[FesteringFungus local fungi]] can do.

The jungle's inhabitants don't make it any better. There tend to be [[BarbarianTribe hostile natives]], {{cannibal tribe}}s, and [[CatFolk cat-]], and [[LizardFolk lizard-people]]. It's also home to BigCreepyCrawlies, [[SnakesAreSinister poisonous and large constricting snakes]], [[PantheraAwesome tigers, leopards, and other large cats]], [[ManiacMonkeys aggressive monkeys]] and [[KillerGorilla apes]], some of which are [[KingKongCopy gigantic]]. The jungle's lakes, rivers, and swamps are full of [[NeverSmileAtACrocodile crocodiles]] and [[PiranhaProblem piranhas]]. There are even [[LivingDinosaurs dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures]] in [[LostWorld extreme cases]]. [[ManEatingPlant Even the plant life is liable to try to take a bit out of you]], and let's not even mention what the [[FesteringFungus local fungi]] can do.

The jungle's inhabitants don't make it any better. There tend to be [[BarbarianTribe hostile natives]], {{cannibal tribe}}s, and [[CatFolk cat-]], and [[LizardFolk lizard-people]]. It's also home to BigCreepyCrawlies, [[SnakesAreSinister poisonous and large constricting snakes]], [[PantheraAwesome tigers, leopards, and other large cats]], [[ManiacMonkeys aggressive monkeys]] and [[KillerGorilla apes]], some of which are [[KingKongCopy gigantic]]. The jungle's lakes, rivers, and swamps are full of [[NeverSmileAtACrocodile crocodiles]] and [[PiranhaProblem piranhas]]. There are even [[LivingDinosaurs dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures]] in [[LostWorld extreme cases]].