The intelligent rodents have a particularly keen nose and have been previously trained to detect landmines and tuberculosis.
While enormous rats might be many people's nightmare, these huge rodents could be a key weapon in the battle against the trading of illegal wildlife goods.African giant pouched rats can be trained to sniff out trafficked wildlife products, ranging from rhino horns and elephant ivory to pangolin scales and African blackwood, according to a new paper in the journal Frontiers in Conservation Science.
, the researchers first introduced the rodents to the smell of pangolin scales, which are one of the world's most widely trafficked animals.The rats were trained to poke their nose into a hole containing a substance, and rewarded when they performed the 'nose poke' when a target scent was present.The rats were then introduced to non-target scents including coffee beans, washing powder, and electric cables, which are often used by traffickers to mask the scent of the illegal goods.
's rats are cost-efficient scent detection tools. They can easily access tight spaces like cargo in packed shipping containers or be lifted up high to screen the ventilation systems of sealed containers,' Szott said.The study is not entirely representative of the conditions where they would be screening for wildlife goods in real life, however, so they may not be as successful in real life.
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