Monday, December 14, 2009

Hero Rats

"...The idea occurred to Weegens as he realized that rats were both easy to train and had an excellent sense of smell...
He founded APOPO, which is a non-profit organization, the aim of which is to train up African Giant Pouched Rats and to deploy them in the field. Not only would the rats be a cheaper alternative to mine clearance methods already in use – he figured that they would be considerably more efficient as well. ...The rats move up and down an area the size of a squash court and when they locate a mine they usually sit still and scratch themselves. After that the mines can be detonated by their human helpers.


headsup NotCot

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