Not a fan of rats? Well, they might save your life.
APOPO is a global nonprofit organization that trains African giant pouched rats to protect people. The animals are taught to sniff out landmines and detect tuberculosis. With Belgian roots, the organization now spans the globe, including a visitor center in Cambodia. Megan d’Ardenne and Alex Lee, both from the United Kingdom, recently visited the center in Siem Reap.
“(The rats are) chosen because of their highly developed sense of smell and lightweight,” d’Ardenne told the AP. “A rat can clear an area the size of a tennis court in just 30 minutes, whereas a human using a metal detector will take four days.”
While African giant pouched rats are larger rodents, they are still lightweight enough not to trigger the undetonated mines they find. APOPO trains the animals to detect the scent of the mine’s explosives and ignore the smell of scrap metal, saving significant time when the rats are out in the field clearing areas.
“It’s changed our opinion on rats completely. Before, we regarded them as vermin and an animal you’d see running in alleys or in bins,” d’Ardenne said. “Now, we’ve reshaped our mindset and are impressed to see their sense of smell trained and utilized for the greater good.”
Rat training to detect landmines at APOPO.
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She added: “The rats used by APOP are truly heroes!”
During their visit, the travelers captured a video of one of the rats training in a sandbox. A trainer removes a rodent from a box labeled “Nina” and brings it around for guests to meet. Next, Nina is wearing a harness connected to a series of ropes. Nina then explores the sand until finding a metallic ball.
According to APOPO’s websiteit takes about nine months to one year to train one of its rats fully. The process starts with clicker and scent training, followed by field training before graduating to fieldwork. If a rat detects an unexploded landmine, a deminer will confirm its existence and safely detonate it.
APOPO uses its rats to detect landmines in Senegal, Cambodia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Angola.
In 2020, an APOPO rat named Magawa received one of the highest distinctions an animal could receive. The PDSA (People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals) awarded Magawa its Gold Medal, which is reserved for heroic animals. He was the 30th recipient of the prize and the first rat to win. In January 2022, Magawa died at 8 years old.
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“During his career, Magawa found over 100 landmines and other explosives, making him APOPO’s most successful HeroRAT to date,” the organization wrote on Instagram following his death. “His contribution allows communities in Cambodia to live, work, and play without fear of losing life or limb.”
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