http://www.care2.com/greenliving/rats-as-heroes.html
Rats as Heroes?
As a child, Bart Weetjens, from Belgium, bred rodents to sell to pet shops. Now he’s the founder and director of APOPO, an NGO operating from Tanzania that trains rats to detect landmines. APOPO’s team of mine-sleuthing rats is active in Mozambique, and will begin mine-detection operations in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Colombia.
Why shouldn’t we use advanced technology to detect landmines?
“Machines require batteries and maintenance, and you end up with a high technological level that won’t work in a tropical environment in a low-resource setting. High-tech devices—infrareds, robotics, multi-sensor platforms, ground-penetrating radar—constantly need experts around and are way too expensive. We can provide a detector that is low-tech and maintainable, and create local expertise in low-skilled operators.”
But why rats?
“When I realized in the 1990s that landmines form a structural barrier to development, I was looking for an appropriate detector. I found out scientists had researched using gerbils to detect explosives. I’m a big rodent lover and I had rats and mice throughout my youth, so I knew rats are very intelligent creatures and one of the most adaptable species. But I didn’t know then that rats can save human lives. At APOPO, we use an approach based on positive behavior reinforcements. Rats are happy performing repetitive tasks—once they know a trick, they like to do it endlessly for food. We socialize them when they are four weeks old. We expose them to all kinds of environments and teach them to trust humans.”
Isn’t it expensive and slow work to train rats?
“No. We can de-mine for 14 cents a square foot, which is 60 to 70 percent cheaper than with metal detectors. And using machines is extremely slow, as you will get a lot of false indications. A manual de-miner can do up to 60 square yards (50 square meters) in a day, while a rat can do that in 15 minutes. And the logistic advantage is huge. The animals don’t require a lot of attention and are easy to transport and train. It’s a very useful tool to speed up the detection of mines.”
Watch the video below to see the rats at work:
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21 comments
add your comment »I had two pet rats and they were WONDERFUL pets!!! Most people think they are "gross" pets but if treated and cared for correctly they are great to have around. They will steal your heart!
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In general I think animals are much smarter than we give them credit for.
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Rats really are amazingly intelligent creatures. I wonder if there are other ways we could use them to benefit people without completely violating their rights as sentient creatures?
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Great story, but I wonder what the survival rate is for the rats? How dangerous is the detection rate for them?
Not that we should discount the human lives they save...but anyone who spends time around rats, knows they can be as lovable and smart as dogs.
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Watch and learn - people don't really have a choice with which animals that live around you - or you around them - we kinda share this BiG Rock that us humans call Earth with them - Sum of them Have been around this Earth Longer then you dumb Humans have! technically humans are just Care-Takers for them, weather you spent $$$ for them or not, they must remain free, True some of em' depend on you to care for them, and show love and compassion -nor they 2 like some humans would just fade into Existence,
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Yup, that picture is definitely a young rat, not a mouse. I have had pet 5 rats over the past 4 years and absolutely love them as pets!! They come when called & have unique personalities. During my senior year of college, I decided on a whim to get a rat and I'm so glad I did. I realized that rats are incredibly intelligent & social and have been getting rats ever since then (however, I now adopt them from rescues instead of going to the pet store).
all animals deserve to be treated with compassion! :)
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Heather B, I've have about 20 pet rats in the 5 years I've been a rat momma. That pic is of a young rat, not a mouse. The muzzle and ears and eyes are very rattie. Mice have pointer, smaller muzzles and their ears and eyes are larger in proportion to their heads. Cute little berky belly rat baby. :)
The rats being used for this, however, aren't Norway (Brown) rats like the one pictured. They are Gambian Pouched rats which are much bigger and look a bit like a possum through the face. Very cute, though.
As long as the rats aren't being hurt, and it doesn't appear that the are, I think this is a lovely way to get rid of those dangerous mines that kill animals and people tragically.
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Incredible - I'm glad rats can give something back - for sure they are amazingly smart.Can I send all the ones that drive me crazy on my farm to be trained??
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Amazing post i must say. I just can't believe that. I always hare rates but after going through this post i think rates are really good in certain things. Thanks for sharing this.
gift ideas
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Your picture at the top of the story is a mouse not a rat. They aren't the same thing.
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