June 27, 2007
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Hero Rats
I was watching Frontline World on PBS last night. One of the stories was about the rats that sniff out deadly unexploded land mines in Tanzania. I have learned a lot by watching this show. Apparently, land mines is a great problem. Every year, land mines maim or kill an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people worldwide.
Although dogs have traditionally been used to help humans detect mines,
the researcher that is the director of the project realized that rats are lighter, cheaper to maintain and less
susceptible to tropical disease. The rats they use for the project are African giant pouched rats and they are huge! It was so interesting to see the researchers take care of them as if they were dogs (They live in cages and they are on a leash when they are in the field). White lab rats are kind of cute but giant rats does not sound so good, does it?Below are the links to their website and the documentary in case you want to check it out:
http://www.herorat.org/
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/tanzania605/index.html
Comments (7)
amazing – who knew rats could serve a humanitarian purpose? imagine if someone could train the nyc subway rats to do something worthwhile…
I am glad there are good uses for rats.My Aunt rescues Rats,Lots of pet rats that are mistreated,I do not like them at all!!
Thank you so much for the comment on my photo!
who would have thought that these horrible rodents could actually be useful… I think at least if they lose a few along the way, in accidents.. there won’t be many tears shed
you came to my site?
You work for xanga, so I’m asking you a question. I’ve been on xanga for 3 years now, under different names and such, but I’ve never premium. Can I still have the LIFE thing or do I have to buy it still?
You still need to buy it.
land mines are a huge problem and something that should never be made again in a world with shifting alliances and boundaries…