Evalynn J. Saeyang
September 09, 2010
Giant African rats are helping out villagers as they sniff out land mines! The rats were mostly hated but now they are loved and even cared for by the villagers, all because of their amazing ability to sniff out dangerous unexploded land mines.
CNN states that the rats are used to sniff out land mines from Mozambique’s civil war which ended in the early 1990s. The program is called Anti-Personnel Land Mines Detection Product Development (APOPO) and was concocted by Buddhist monk Bart Weetjens. The rats used to sniff out land mines are called HeroRats.
MailOnline reports that these amazing giant African pouched rats have also been taught to sniff out tuberculosis which is especially deadly to it’s African victims because several people there have HIV. Apparently, if tuberculosis is detected early enough, it will only cost $10 to treat.
BBC News states that the rats are being used because they are better able to sniff out land mines than their dog counterparts. Christopher Coxof APOPO said, “They are more mechanical than a dog and they are easier to transfer to different owners.”
The land mines location is discovered by trained rats who sniff it out then scratch at it’s surface while their trainer leads them aside and rewards them with some banana. After the rat is lead away, a trained bomb technician dismantles the land mine.
Hopefully these amazing rats will sniff out all the land mines in Africa and all the emerging and undiagnosed tuberculosis cases. Africa is a country is serious need of help, any kind of help. It’s people are dying in the masses because of AIDS and several other diseases. It’s just wonderful that wild rats were able to be trained thanks to banana treats.
http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978506487
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