I don't know if anyone else knows about hero rats, basically they are Gambian or Emin's Pouched Rats, that are trained to do these two things:
- detect landmines
- detects tuberculosis from sputum samples
This is the official website:
APOPO - Welcome to our new home
I think this programme is only run in Africa at the moment, where TB is still a serious epidemic health issue. The giant rats are trained to recognise the 'smell' of a person's sputum who is infected with TB - rats have an extremely good sense of smell. The rat scratches at the dish of the infected sample and gets a treat after every one. One rat can look through 40 samples in 7 minutes - what would take a person 1 whole working day, making diagnosis quick and treatment faster.
In many countries, there are still many undetonated bombs left buried underground, rats detect these through learning to recognise the smell of TNT. The rat can walk above the bombs without setting it off, as they are not as heavy as a person. Again, the rat scratches at the ground surface where it detects a bomb. All rats are held by a harness and led on lines that are hung across the area that is being observed, so it doesn't miss anything.
These rats are native to Africa, and they are truly giants. Their bodies are 3 feet long [0.9metres] including their tails and can weigh up to 3 pounds [1.4kg] They have cheek pouches like hamsters in which they store and collect food in a similar manner. They are one of the most intelligent rat species and possibly one of the most intelligent animals in the world. They live in large burrows with several chambers for sleeping, waste and hoard. They are widespread throughout Africa and often consumed as bushmeat. They are nocturnal and omnivorous, mainly feeding on fruits and insects. They have entered the pet trade approx. 20 years ago. Their suitability as pets is still debatable and they are certainly not for everyone. They currently come in two colours: agouti [brown back/white belly] and grey [grey back/white belly]. Of both colours, the tail is half white. Their feet are slightly more furry than fancy rats'. There are very few breeders of this species currently, and breeding them in captivity is not proving to be easy. They have small litters which further limits the number of rats available. They are social like other rats and they seem to accept fancy rats as companions where there is a lack of other members of the same species.
TB detection:
HeroRAT sniffing for TB in human sputum samples - YouTube
Landmine detection:
Humanwire: Hero Rats - YouTube
heroRATS - rodents as working animals
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