The same species of rat also is currently being trained to quickly rescreen phlegm samples submitted by local health clinics for signs of tuberculosis. APOPO says more than 60 countries are contaminated with hidden landmines and other explosive remnants of war or rebellion.
She said the giant rats - which can live up to nine years, much longer than the average rat - have assignments in Zimbabwe and Colombia coming up. “We actually cleared Mozambique of landmines.” “We have rats in Angola and Cambodia,” Sears-Webb said. APOPO trains its rats to systematically sniff for TNT and then scratch the area of a suspected landmine as a signal to the handler. They are much cheaper to train than a search dog and they’re light enough to avoid setting off landmines. Sears-Webb said the rats give fewer false alarms than a metal detector. “They can speed up the normal de-mining process.” “These are hero rats who were originally trained in landmine detection,” said Kate Sears-Webb, a consulting researcher for APOPO.
Sutherland helped make the connections to acquire the exotic rats from the non-governmental organization APOPO in Tanzania, which trains giant rats for humanitarian missions. “As soon as people hear about how amazing and special these rats are, they want to meet them.” “They are absolutely adorable,” said zoo staff biologist Jessica Sutherland on Friday. But the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington, thinks quite the opposite about the African giant pouched rats it just put on display. Giant rats sound like something to be scared of, perhaps.
0 kommentar(er)
