rats that save humans



If there's one animal that's widely despised it's the rat. Yet some people are really fond of them and keep them as pets. There's a chat room called Rattit, and comments from these 'ratophiles' are funny and interesting. Like ... Sweetest, most loving pets I've every had... Rats are amazing pets... The one I had loved to cuddle with my cat and was also litter trained... My best friend Charley died today as a result of a botched neutering operation. I'll miss you little man... My sweet Truffle is getting older and a bit skinny but she's loving being spoiled more than ever.

Now there is news about a species of rat native to sub Saharan Africa, called the African Giant Pouched Rat. Intelligent, about the size of a small dog, the rodent is like a cross between a rat and a hamster.





Bart Weetjens is a Belgian product designer who worked in the field of mine clearing. These land mines are just under the ground and kill and injure thousands of people each year. Weetjens had pet rats as a child, and realized these native rats could be trained to sniff out the mines.  He formed Apopo, a nonprofit organization, to train rats to do this task.

With their extremely sensitive sense of smell they will sense where a mine is buried.This sensitivity increases with training. They don't weigh enough to set off the mines. When they find one they just scratch the surface, so people know it's there and can safely detonate the mine. Because of the work of the rats, Mozambique has now been cleared of nearly all its land mines and a similar project is happening in Angola.

It was also discovered that the rats could be sniff out the smell of tuberculosis, and detect carriers of the disease, formerly very difficult to diagnose.

I don't think we should only value animals because they are of use to humans. But for humans who think rats are filthy pests that deserve to be killed, maybe they need to think again. The African Giant Pouched Rat saves lives.

















The photos can be found at http://imgur.com/gallery/IMxSM. Follow this link for more photos and information.

And don't forget you can help Apopo with its valuable humanitarian work by Adopting a HeroRat.

Comments

  1. My grandchildren have two pet rats, called Piet and Paprika. They are really funny clever animals, at home always on the shoulder of grandson Maarten.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. they do sound wonderful pets, Maarten must look very cute with the rats on his shoulder.

      Delete
  2. wonderful to find a better, humane, way of clearing land mines!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yes, it's great that the rats don't get hurt.

      Delete
  3. Wow, impressive! And pretty darn cute too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That is amazing, I hope more rats are trained up and the message spreads.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, the Foundation is worth supporting. I hope people decide to adopt a hero rat!

      Delete
  5. How wonderful. Rats give me goosebumps. But I am happy the rats don't have to die while performing such a useful task.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. rats are so hated by lots of people, and loved by some.

      Delete
  6. I had a pet albino rat in college as we had to keep and train one for a class...Perky was an awesome rat and she was most intelligent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. how interesting, Donna, sounds a real relationship.

      Delete
  7. This is wonderful. I think rats are interesting and intelligent animals but don't enjoy them living in the walls of my home.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't mind so much in the walls, but I hate it when they come inside!

      Delete
  8. Thanks for posting. I would never have known...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't usually do posts like this, but this is so quirky I couldn't resist ...

      Delete
  9. That is pretty amazing. I once raised a squirrel, also a rodent, and I was impressed with his intelligence. There is a lot about all animals that we humans don't know!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Scientists seem to like doing research into animals, but people like you, Deb, who have raised a squirrel, understand intuitively what they are capable of.

      Delete
  10. I've heard of this before and think it's amazing. I have gerbils in my classroom as pets and use them in fun labs that involve natural behavior such as running through tubes, etc. They're so intelligent, they've outsmarted my lab right in the middle and I had to redesign it on the fly to continue the experiment. Rats don't bother me as long as they're not digging in my garbage.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gerbils are so cute, I once worked in a school and had gerbils too.

      Delete

Post a Comment