Small Heroes! Rats In Tiny Vests Trained to Sniff Out Trafficked Rhino Horns and Elephant Tusks
Rats in custom vests are stepping up in the fight against wildlife trafficking, sniffing out illegal ivory, rhino horn, and endangered plants with surprising accuracy. 🌐 #News #Lifestyle #Science #Animals
ST. PAUL, MN – African giant pouched rats may soon become wildlife’s newest guardians in the fight against smuggling. These specially trained rats, outfitted with custom vests, are now being prepared to detect illegally trafficked items like rhino horns, elephant tusks, and even rare woods, offering a fresh, low-cost approach to tackle this global crisis.
Researchers, including Isabelle Szott from the Okeanos Foundation and Kate Webb from Duke University, report that these remarkable rodents have previously been trained to detect explosives and tuberculosis pathogens. Now, they are helping authorities identify endangered animals and plants commonly smuggled by traffickers. The results, published in Frontiers in Conservation Science, suggest that African giant pouched rats could add a valuable tool to the arsenal against the illegal wildlife trade.
Trained to Recognize Endangered Species
An international research team, working at APOPO, a nonprofit in Tanzania, trained a group of these rats to identify scents associated with endangered species, such as pangolin scales, elephant ivory, rhino horn, and African blackwood. This training proved successful, with eleven rats participating in a rigorous training program that included detecting these target scents among a wide variety of non-target materials.
“Our study shows that we can train African giant pouched rats to detect illegally trafficked wildlife, even when it has been concealed among other substances,” explained Szott.
Some of the rats, named after famous conservationists, including Irwin and Fossey, achieved high accuracy in identifying the targets. By the end of their training, eight rats could reliably distinguish the wildlife scents from 146 different non-target items, such as coffee beans and washing powder, common materials traffickers use to mask the smell of contraband.
Smart Rodents with Incredible Retention
The training involved a simple but effective method: the rats were taught to perform a “nose poke” by holding their noses in a hole containing the target scent for a few seconds, rewarding them with flavored pellets each time they succeeded. To keep them sharp, the rats were reintroduced to the target scents after five and eight months.
According to Kate Webb, “The rats also continued to detect the wildlife targets after not encountering that species for a long period,” achieving retention rates similar to those seen in trained sniffer dogs.
This lasting retention makes them excellent for the field, and APOPO’s team is now preparing them for real-world applications, particularly at ports. Webb noted that “the vests are a great example of developing hardware that could be useful across different settings and tasks, including at a shipping port to detect smuggled wildlife.”
Tiny Vests, Big Potential
In an inventive twist, the rats will soon be equipped with miniature vests, designed to emit a beeping sound when the rats identify a target scent. The rats alert their handlers by pulling a ball attached to the vest, enabling efficient and accurate detection, even in crowded, tight cargo spaces. With their keen sense of smell and compact size, these rats are perfect for tasks where conventional methods are too costly or complex.
Szott highlighted the unique benefits of using trained rats in the field, stating, “Existing screening tools are expensive and time intensive, and there is an urgent need to increase cargo screening. APOPO’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.”
A New Weapon Against Crime Networks
Wildlife trafficking, researchers say, often intertwines with other illegal activities, including human, drug, and arms trafficking. Deploying rats to detect trafficked wildlife could have broader implications, aiding in the disruption of global smuggling networks that exploit both humans and the environment.
While dogs have traditionally served as primary scent detectors, these resilient rats offer a unique advantage, combining high accuracy with low maintenance costs. They could become an essential tool in protecting endangered species, potentially saving countless animals and plants from extinction.
As these tiny, vested protectors embark on their mission, their impact may stretch far beyond the wildlife they aim to protect—posing a new challenge to the larger networks profiting from illegal trafficking.
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