Seventy-two-year-old Gene Penaflor from California put a life time of wildernes skills -- gained from hunting and television-watching -- to the test when he went missing in Mendoino National Forest on Sept. 24. Nineteen days later -- survivng on all types of wildlife and wilderness tricks -- Penaflor was found alive and in good health, according to The Ukiah Daily Journal. He was reuinted with family on Saturday, Oct. 12. See below for footage of the vigorous hunter.

It's not often one gets to put their survival skills to use, especially skills as deep as Penaflor's. He supplements his proclivity for the hunt with survival-based TV programs. When he went missing, he was out hunting with a friend, reported The Ukiah.

At some point on Sept. 24, Penaflor separated from his hunting partner, fell, and blacked out after hitting his head in an area known for being "very steep, rocky and treacherous." The thick fog forming in his head was met by an equally thick coat in the surrounding forest. Penaflor was disoriented. He found a nearby stream and gathered his thoughts.

Meanwhile, nearly 20 agencies searched for him, but were forced to stand down after four days because of an incoming storm. That left Penaflor in the woods for 15 more days, reported The Ukiah.

"There were no clues, we had thoroughly searched the area and there was a weather front coming in," said Mendocino County Sheriff's Office detective Andrew Porter.

The Mendocino National Forest is immense and spans nearly 250,000 acres, according to the park's website.

Penaflor ate lizards, squirrels, one snake, and at one point ingested a species of algae he knew to be safe. He saw deer, but felt too weak to hunt. To combat 20 degree temperatures at night, Penaflor built a fire, slept in logs, and covered himself in leaves, according to The Ukiah.

"He knew at some point he was going to die, but he figured he'd last as long as he could," Porter told the Ukiah Daily Journal.

The agencies eventually resumed their search, though it was a group of hunters who heard Penaflor's cries of help at the bottom of a nearby canyon on Saturday, according to The Ukiah.

"My husband came into the room and they were like, 'They found Uncle Gene alive!' And I was like, 'What! What!' And as soon as I heard that I started crying because I was just so happy that he was safe," said Sharon Bura, Penaflor's niece. "He's great, he's happy to be home and just telling his stories."

Jeremy Penaflor, who was "devastated" when he first heard of his father's disappearance, said, "Just as if he took a long vacation and came back home with a beard."

"He told me he learned a lot about himself through this," Porter said.