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Science & Technology |
The heroic mine clearing critters of Africa that are helping to save thousands |
2015-07-13 |
[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 |
#10 What happened to the bee training? IIRC there's a project to breed bees to cluster at the smell of explosives. |
Posted by: Halliburton - Mysterious Conspiracy Division 2015-07-13 22:32 |
#9 Aye, he be a Scottie fer sure. Lets see FRANCE top this. |
Posted by: JosephMendiola 2015-07-13 19:48 |
#8 Glad it's not a real rat, I wuz thinking it much to cute for a rat thus. |
Posted by: Shipman 2015-07-13 15:03 |
#7 Thats what the penal battalions were for. |
Posted by: OldSpook 2015-07-13 14:29 |
#6 And by the way, the African pouched rat is not a true rat. |
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2015-07-13 13:54 |
#5 Steve, the Soviet way would have been to have troops March through the minefield. This was the approach Iran used in the Iran - Iraq war. They had kids wrapped in blankets March ahead of the troops. Why blankets? To help keep the body parts together. |
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2015-07-13 13:52 |
#4 |
Posted by: 2015-07-13 13:00 |
#3 Cool - and then of course you get the PETA freaks who rush out to 'save' the poor rats... Two birds with one stone type of thing. |
Posted by: CrazyFool 2015-07-13 12:38 |
#2 Heroic? Glad it's working and all, but seriously? |
Posted by: Iblis 2015-07-13 12:31 |
#1 The Soviet method would be to drop a few thousand rats into the minefield. Catch the ones that live and repeat... |
Posted by: Steve White 2015-07-13 12:14 |