Bomb-sniffing ratsExplosive-detecting rats to save soldiers' lives
An Oklahoma State University researcher received a $740,000 grant from the Department of Defense to conduct the research into using rats as landmine sniffers; rats have three advantages as bomb sniffers: the rodents, about the size of a small cat, can cover a lot of ground quickly; their acute sense of smell enables them to sniff out land mines, but they are small enough that they do not detonate the mines; also, they do not form attachments to their handlers so anyone could deploy them
Mine-detecting rat displays the tools of his trade // Source: minispace.com
An Oklahoma State University researcher has received a boost of funding from the federal government to study rats that may be used to detect explosives. Alex Ophir, assistant professor in the OSU department of zoology, received a $740,000 grant from the U.S. Army Research Office in the U.S. Department of Defense. NewsOK reports that He will use it to study African giant pouched rats and determine behavioral and genetic traits that make them ideal candidates to find bombs.
The rodents are about the size of a small cat, meaning they can cover a lot of ground quickly. Also, they do not form attachments to their handlers so anyone could deploy them, Ophir said.
“Their acute sense of smell enables them to sniff out land mines, but they’re small enough that they don’t detonate the mines,” he said.
A humanitarian group called Apopo has been training rats to detect explosives for ten years.
“They’ve been battle-tested already and have a really strong record of detecting mines,” Ophir said.
By profiling their behavioral differences and “personality,” Ophir hopes to enhance selection and use of the animals in detecting land mines, which account for more than 1,000 deaths and 2,500 injuries per year, according to the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor.
He expects the research to begin within a few months.
