Friends predict South Portland resident and Gorham High School physics teacher Bob Crowley should continue to remain on “Survivor: Gabon – Earth’s Last Eden,” even as contestants begin to dwindle.

“He is an asset to his team,” said Sally Hatch, Crowley’s colleague at Gorham High School. “He continues to catch fish and provide his tribe with food. If his tribe is smart, they will keep him around for a while.”

Fans of the TV show will know Crowley’s current status for sure when episode 6 airs Thursday at 8 p.m. on WGME Channel 13, the CBS affiliate. The show was filmed last summer in the jungle of Gabon, a country on the western coast of Africa.

At 57, Crowley is the oldest of the 18 original contestants. That number has already shrunk to 13.

Crowley, who has lived in South Portland for 25 years, will be safe as long as he continues to be his team’s “G.I. Joe,” said Jason Tanguay, another of Crowley’s colleagues at Gorham High School.

“He appears to be the glue that keeps that camp together,” Tanguay said of Crowley’s team, named Kota. “They utilize his fishing and carpentry skills to keep the tribe well fed and comfortable.”

During episode 5 last week, Crowley and teammate Marcus Lehman of Atlanta surprised their team with four talipia fish they had caught from the nearby river.

Crowley later played a large role during a reward challenge as Kota and the other team, Fang, struggled during a fruit-flying contest. In the event, members tossed fruit to their tribemates through holes in two net walls while members of the opposite team used wooden clubs to try and whack the fruit out of the air.

Crowley started at the front of the net for Kota and constantly thwarted Fang’s attempts to sling fruit through the hole. Crowley’s team eventually won by piling up the most fruit.

In the immunity challenge, the teams fought during cliff bowling. One member from each tribe bowled a ball down a cliff through a series of obstacles while a blindfolded member of the other tribe used a shield in an attempt to block the ball. With the score even, Crowley – attired in his signature bow tie and dress shirt – hurled his ball down the hill, blasting it past the Fang defender and helping his team win its fourth of five immunity challenges so far.

Fang voted its fourth team member off the show. Kota, however, has had to vote only one person off.

“I think Bob will stay under the radar until there is only one combination tribe,” Tanguay said. “Then it becomes vitally important to make alliances. But he should be safe until a combination team is created because the Fang tribe continues to vote the majority of its members out.”

Bob Crowley, right, hurls the final ball down a hill during the bowling game for immunity during last weekHe appears to be the glue that keeps the camp together.He has put himself back in the position to remain for a while.If his tribe is smart they will keep him around for a while.