Giant African Rats aka Hero Rats have been saving lives for 20 years by using their incredible sense of smell to sniff out landmines and tuberculosis.
Apopo is an International non-profit organisation that works with Giant African Rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. They recently celebrated 20 years of success. The Giant Hero Rats are now being trained to help combat the poaching of endangered Pangolins.
The reason the organisation makes use of the giant rats is that they have an incredible sense of smell and when they head out into the fields they are light enough that they don’t set off the landmines. They are also highly intelligent and easy to train, they adapt to new trainers easily and are cost effective to feed and care for.
The project is based in Tanzania and sends rats to 5 other countries to help remove landmines. One of the amazing things these hero rats will be doing is saving the elephants in Zimbabwe from landmines. Sadly the country is still riddled with landmines and elephants often wander through areas and step on a one. The thought is just so tragic and the same thing occurs in Cambodia.
“Over 64,000 landmine and other Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) casualties have been recorded in Cambodia since 1979. With over 25,000 amputees Cambodia has the highest ratio of mine amputees per capita in the world.”
The Hero rats can check a space the size of a tennis court in just 30 minutes whereas it would take a human around 4 days. They are now being trained to work in preventing the poaching of Pangolins. The project is still in the testing phase. There are other great things these rats will be able to do including search and rescue as well as possibly detecting brain disease.
“APOPO’s TB detection programs are expanding in Tanzania and Mozambique and will soon be operational in Ethiopia. APOPO is also exploring using rats for search and rescue operations, particularly in collapsed buildings, and even in sniffing out brain disease.”
Some people feel that the rats are a poor choice but they are highly efficient and very well cared for. Apopo makes sure every rat in their care is healthy, they have weekly check-ups and once they reach a certain age, they get to retire. The HeroRAT diet consists of high-quality pet pellets, fresh peanuts, plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, sun-dried sardines and clean water that is regularly infused with extra vitamins and minerals to boost the rats’ immune systems.
“Each of our rats is considered a highly valuable asset making animal welfare our top priority. They are extremely well cared for, receiving an excellent diet, regular exercise, stimulation and enrichment, and loving attention from our expert handlers.”
We find it fascinating that these clever rats are changing so many lives. Watch the informative video below for more information.
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