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The heroic mine clearing critters of Africa that are helping to save thousands
 [spiritandanimal.wordpress.com] Throughout the world, places that have been involved in war and/or civil strife often have large minefields that still need clearing. In 2013, it was estimated that there was a global average of around nine mine-related deaths every day. The situation is especially dire in Africa.Typically, clearing a minefield involves men in body armor walking in very precise lines with metal detectors. Anything (from a rusty nail to an old ammo cartridge) that sets the detectors off must be investigated before moving on. A new method of bomb detection using rats, however, is flipping this process on its head. A Belgian NGO called APOPO has developed a way to train African pouched rats (named for the storage pouch in their cheeks) to sniff out bombs quickly and safely. I could be mistaken, but isn't that lad eating the plantain wearing a County Cork tartan harness ? Posted by: Besoeker 2015-07-13 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=423245 |