Hero Rats Clear Landmines

Rats don’t exactly spring to mind when you think of do-gooder creatures. But it seems that the little scurrying rodent we love to hate can actually save lives — clearing landmines.

Giant African rats have been called in to help with the landmine problem in Mozambique, reports the BBC, by sniffing out millions of unexploded mines in the war-torn African country.

Before they embark on their heroic mission, the rats are sent to a training camp in Tanzania, run by the social enterprise APOPO. Specializing in developing the detection skills of rats in order to save lives, APOPO train the African Giant Pouched rats from infant age to associate a stimulus with food, using TNT instead of the usual ringing of a bell.

And in case you were wondering, APOPO take the lives of their rats very seriously indeed — this is no suicide mission. "It is a misunderstanding that the rats are trained as Kamikaze to destroy the mines in the field," they clarify, adding: "On the contrary, the rats used by APOPO are treated with great care and attention, in order to optimize their physical and mental condition."

In the field, the ‘rat-soldiers’ run along wires between two handlers, signaling to the team when they have found a mine by digging and scratching around the dangerous area. Could this be the makings of an Oscar contender? Hurt-Locker: A Rat's Tale.

Well, they might not be winning awards, but the lightweight rodents with their superior olfactory functions are certainly doing their rat species proud.

If you would like to adopt your very own life-saving rat, go to APOPO’s sister website, appropriately called HeroRATS.

Photo by asplosh via Flickr