BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhuanet) -- A former pest exterminator lost in the remote Australian Outback and desperate for food survived by eating termites and other insects for four days before being found Tuesday by local Aborigines.

    A weary-looking Theo Rosmulder told reporters that he found some relief from hunger at a giant termite mound.

    "I just hit the top of the termite nest off and got stuck into them," Rosmulder said at a news conference in the southwestern Australian mining town of Laverton. "Termites don't taste too bad."

    Rosmulder, 52, was suffering from dehydration but otherwise in "surprisingly good condition," Western Australia state police Sgt. Graham Clifford said. He said the insects and termites provided Rosmulder a bit of moisture and some protein.

    "He kept eating what he used to kill," Clifford said.

    Rosmulder had been searching for gold with his wife and a group of other prospectors about 80 miles north of Laverton, police said.

    On Friday, he became lost after heading out alone, armed only with a pocketknife, flashlight and a metal detector, Clifford said. His prospecting group called police Friday night after he failed to return to camp.

    On Tuesday morning, a couple members of a local Aboriginal community who were out shooting spotted Rosmulder about 6 miles from his camp. He was still holding onto his metal detector.

    (Agencies)