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Giant rats put noses to work on Africa's land mine epidemic
CNN.com ^ | 09/08/2010 | Eliott C. McLaughlin

Posted on 09/08/2010 4:08:51 PM PDT by OldDeckHand

(CNN) -- Niko Mushi hated rats, as did most people in his village near Tanzania's Mt. Kilimanjaro -- until he learned the critters had a nose for land mines.

Mushi, 32, has been working with giant African pouched rats for almost seven years. He now enjoys their company -- "They're just like my friend," he says -- but he concedes he was skeptical when the man who conceived the idea for HeroRats first told him they could sniff out live ordnance.

"I thought maybe he was making some jokes," Mushi said. "I was amazed that rats could do such a thing."

Before he started working with rats, Mushi had a comfortable job teaching the Kiswahili language at a Lutheran seminary. He was terrified when he first took one of his long-tailed protégés into a Mozambican minefield.

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


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: africa; cricetomys; crycetomys; herorats; landmine; minds; mine; rats; rodents
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To: donna

Easily...pull one shoulder in, then the other, then back straight out.


21 posted on 09/08/2010 6:46:55 PM PDT by Fire_on_High (Stupid should hurt.)
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To: Tijeras_Slim

I have used Pakistani Mine sweepers....funny stuff. They put their fingers in their ears an stomp the ground or whack it with bamboo poles. We used to call em Polish Mine sweeepers.....but Pakistani will do such for pennies a day....

Sandia also developed a microbe that eats HE yet it couldn’t get past the cases it was in like body of the UXO.

Rats find it yet.....can’t do anything to it. Tough to keep track of em in real mine fields.

Gimmicks in this work are developed by idgits that aren’t end users ...... KISS principal is best in EOD work. Or kiss yer ass gone.....


22 posted on 09/09/2010 12:35:05 AM PDT by Squantos (Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everyone you meet)
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To: Fire_on_High

How do you know that, LOL?


23 posted on 09/09/2010 9:37:35 AM PDT by donna (Synonyms: Feminism, Marxism, Communism, Socialism, Fascism, Islam-ism)
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To: donna

It looks loose enough, and I’ve tried to use miniharnesses on small pets before :-)

If they wanted to play along they would, and if not, they’d give a shrug and a wiggle and be free.


24 posted on 09/09/2010 11:49:47 AM PDT by Fire_on_High (Stupid should hurt.)
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To: Fire_on_High

You can take your pets to PETCO with you while you shop. I saw a cat there, with a thin 10-foot cotton string tied to its collar. That cat was totally controlled by that string.


25 posted on 09/09/2010 12:11:56 PM PDT by donna (Synonyms: Feminism, Marxism, Communism, Socialism, Fascism, Islam-ism)
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To: donna

Cute!


26 posted on 09/09/2010 8:13:44 PM PDT by Fire_on_High (Stupid should hurt.)
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