The African giant pouched rat is a small but mighty resource when it comes to disaster zones, as they can use their heightened sense of smell to sniff out landmines and survivors trapped in rubble. Now, the nonprofit APOPO is experimenting with the rodent’s ability to assist in the global illegal wildlife trade. A group of African giant pouched rats have been trained to sniff out elephant tusks, rhino horns, and other popular trafficked wildlife items. They could successfully identify animal contraband even when it was disguised as other objects, as it often is when shipped across international borders. While dogs are currently an effective option for detecting contraband in large areas like national parks, rats would be more useful for searching through small spaces like densely packed shipping containers– which is how most items are trafficked. African giant pouched rats range from 3-9 lbs. and are a curious, intelligent, and playful species, making them easy subjects to train. APOPO is hopeful that they can scale their research and begin enlisting the help of these special rats to stop wildlife trafficking once and for all.
Image via CNN
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