African giant rats trained to sniff out illegal wildlife products
In the past, African giant pouched rats have learned to detect explosives and the tuberculosis-causing pathogen. Now, a team of researchers have trained these rats to pick up the scent of pangolin scales, elephant ivory, ...
"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," said Dr. Isabelle Szott, a researcher at the Okeanos Foundation, and first co-author of the study published in Frontiers in Conservation Science.
"The rats also continued to detect the wildlife targets after not encountering that species for a long period," added first co-author Dr. Kate Webb, an assistant professor at Duke University.
The research for the present study was conducted at APOPO, a Tanzania-based, non-profit organization that provides low-tech, cost-efficient solutions to pressing humanitarian challenges.
Ratting out wildlife trafficking
The rats—Kirsty, Marty, Attenborough, Irwin, Betty, Teddy, Ivory, Ebony, Desmond, Thoreau, and Fossey; some of them named after conservationists and advocates against wildlife trafficking—underwent several training stages. During indication training, the rats learned to hold their noses for several seconds in a hole in which the target scent was placed. When they correctly performed this 'nose poke' they were rewarded with flavored rodent pellets.
Researchers trained African giant pouched rats to detect illegally trafficked wildlife species and remember targets for several months. Credit: APOPO
In real life settings, rats will be able to pull a small ball attached at the chest of their vest, which emits a beeping sound. This way rats will be able to alert their handlers when they detect a target. Credit: APOPO
The rats learned to identify and remember the scent of pangolin scales, elephant ivory, rhino horn, and African blackwood. These animals and plants are listed as threatened and at high danger of extinction. Credit: APOPO
The study shows that African giant pouched rats to detect illegally trafficked wildlife, even when it has been concealed among other substances. Credit: APOPO