One man's ratatouille is another man's hero. [Photo source]They have little rat tails and little rat feet and little rat voices that go squeak squeak squeak, and when they locate an unexploded landmine, these African Giant Pouched Rats alert their handlers by sitting still and giving themselves a nice scratch. If you live in a region with landmines, these clever rodents may save your life and your livelihood.
[Oh, and let's get one thing out of the way right off the rat... er, bat: "they are too light to detonate a mine by themselves if they step on it."]
The HeroRATS are currently deployed in Mozambique where they have enabled over one thousand families to reclaim their land. They have also helped with clearing areas so that power lines can be passed through – so bringing electricity which would not otherwise have been possible to over ten thousand local citizens.
Read the whole thing here. H/T: Nag on the Lake.
3 comments:
How great! I can't think of anything more cowardly and devastating than setting land mines.
What a neat, neat concept. I can't help but especially like that the rats don't kill blown up by landmines. I wonder if they have a rat retirement program. :)
Thanks so much for the h/t.
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