A Belgian Nonprofit Is Using Giant Rats to Sniff Out Landmines

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A Belgian Nonprofit Is Using Giant Rats to Sniff Out Landmines

Trained to detect the smell of TNT, the rats have cleared over 13,000 landmines so far.
Rachel Pick
New York, US

According to UNICEF, there are an estimated 110 million unexploded landmines lurking in 64 different countries. They may be killing as many as 800 people a month, and children are especially vulnerable. Enter an unlikely hero: the Gambian pouched rat.

This National Geographic video showcases the efforts of Belgian nonprofit APOPO, which trains wild rats to search for landmines by sniffing out TNT. The rats are light enough that they don't set off the explosives, and they can cover an area that takes a human with a metal detector several days in less than half an hour.

Here, the rats are shown at work in Cambodia, where landmines planted by the Khmer Rouge decades ago not only pose a physical danger to communities, but also limit the amount of land that can be safely used for construction or agriculture.

APOPO was launched in 1997 by Bart Weetjens, who had always loved rats and kept them as pets. Weetjens was looking for ways to help solve the global landmine problem when he came across a research paper that used gerbils as scent detectors, and the idea began to form.

Gambian pouched rats have an extraordinary sense of smell, and are cheaper to care for than dogs. But they're not as smart, and they have to be socialized to get along with humans from birth. The trainers use a clicker, similar to ones used with dogs, because rats can't follow verbal instruction.

So far, the rats have discovered over 13,000 landmines in Cambodia, Angola, Mozambique and Tanzania. For more, check out the full story at National Geographic.