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Vest-wearing giant rats could be smugglers' worst nightmare
New Atlas ^ | October 30, 2024 | Michael Franco

Posted on 10/30/2024 11:19:42 AM PDT by Red Badger

The rats will be trained to operate a vest that emits a sound when a ball attached to a cord is pulledAPOPO

Most of us are familiar with the vest-clad beagle that hunts for illegal fruits and plants in the travelers' luggage at airports. Now, a species of giant pouched rat has been trained to fulfill a similar role in finding illegal wildlife products.

The rodents who underwent the training are African giant pouched rats and, despite their somewhat terrifying name, really only grow to be about 750 mm (about 2.5 ft) long from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail, with the tail taking up about half that length. While that's indeed big for a rat, it makes the animal small enough that it could wander among tightly packed crates in shipping containers to combat illegally smuggled products.

In a new study, 11 of the rats – with names including Attenborough, Fossey, and Thoreau – were first trained to stick their noses through a hole in their enclosure to receive a treat. Then, the rats were exposed to both non-triggering scents and those of commonly smuggled illegal wildlife products and trained to distinguish between the two. The non-triggering scents included electric cables, detergent, and coffee beans, which are all used to hide the scent of illegal animal products by smugglers. The triggering scents included pangolin scales, elephant ivory, rhino horn, and African blackwood, all of which are smuggled and all of which are considered in danger of extinction.

After learning to identify the illegal wildlife products, the researchers gave the rats a break and found that the animals were still able to identify them correctly up to eight months later ...

(Excerpt) Read more at newatlas.com ...


TOPICS: Military/Veterans; Outdoors; Pets/Animals; Society
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To: Red Badger
"Rats are extremely smart animals...................."


21 posted on 10/30/2024 1:51:35 PM PDT by clearcarbon (Fraudulent elections have consequences.)
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To: Fido969

(Willard), Ben, “tear ‘em up!”


22 posted on 10/30/2024 2:06:45 PM PDT by epluribus_2
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To: Red Badger
ONLY 2.5 feet long?
23 posted on 10/30/2024 2:10:32 PM PDT by telescope115 (I NEED MY SPACE!!! 🔭)
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To: Red Badger

So I hear.


24 posted on 10/30/2024 2:16:43 PM PDT by metmom (He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus”)
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To: metmom
Who ever would have thought that a rat could be useful?

They have also been trained to run new wire behind the wallls of old buildings.
25 posted on 10/30/2024 3:47:11 PM PDT by Dr. Sivana ("Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye." (John 2:5))
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To: Dr. Sivana

I didn’t know that. What a great idea.


26 posted on 10/30/2024 4:55:15 PM PDT by metmom (He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus”)
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To: Fido969

Those are democrats. I could tell by the cheese eating look on its face. Hillary is looking like a fat chipmunk but she could pass for a rat too.


27 posted on 10/30/2024 5:06:29 PM PDT by Rdct29 (The Democrats Are The New Nazi Party e )
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To: metmom

Magawa, the land mine detecting rat.

28 posted on 10/30/2024 5:44:01 PM PDT by gundog (It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. )
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To: gundog

Yes, Magawa was a national hero, much loved in Cambodia. It’s amazing what these rats can do:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59951255


29 posted on 10/30/2024 8:05:56 PM PDT by CatHerd (Whoever said "All's fair in love and war" probably never participated in either.)
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To: telescope115

“ONLY 2.5 feet long?”

What’s going to happen when some get loose and go feral? Another invasive species on the way.


30 posted on 10/31/2024 2:08:26 AM PDT by rxh4n1 ( )
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