Rats aren’t exactly the most adored animals. But they should be, because they are hard at work in 56 countries, helping to clear out landmines and the explosive remnants of war that kill thousands of people every year.
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These African pouched rats have been trained to save lives by sniffing out the scent of explosives.
The group responsible for training the HeroRATs, as they are known, is APOPO (Anti-Personnel Landmines Detection Product Development). It is the brainchild of Bart Weetjens, a product designer in Belgium who quit his job to explore the issue of landmines in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Rats are the perfect mine detectors owing to their high intelligence and keen sense of smell. In addition, they are small enough not to trigger mines, yet large enough to be easily identifiable in the field.
To date, no HeroRAT has been killed in service.
Amazingly, these rats can clear two hundred square meters in just 20 minutes — which would take humans with metal detectors five days.
Using positive reinforcement techniques, the HeroRATs are taught to identify explosives and alert their handler to the presence of landmines.
This is totally badass.
The HeroRATs are retired when they turn six years, and spend the rest of their days in well-deserved retirement, feasting on avocados, apples and bananas.
If you’re interested in finding out more about how the rats are trained, check out the short video below:
For more information visit the APOPO website and Facebook page.