Rats sniff out landmines!
Giant rats are being trained to sniff out buried landmines in Mozambique with the help of funding from British taxpayers.
Apopo, a mine-clearance charity, uses African giant pouched rats for its life-saving work because the animals are light enough to walk over the devices without detonating them.
They can also search much wider areas more quickly than humans at a fraction of the cost.
Working in Mozambique, once one of the most heavily-mined countries in the world, the rats have found more than 2,700 landmines and more than 1,000 bombs, along with over 13,000 items of small arms and ammunition, according to Apopo.
Apopo has received £60,000 from Britain's Department for International Development via the United Nations Development Programme.
Justine Greening, the International Development Secretary, said: "British funding has helped to destroy thousands of mines across Mozambique.
"This not only saves lives but frees up valuable, fertile land on which to grow crops and contribute to the economy."
Bart Weetjens, the founder of Apopo, came up with the idea of using rats to detect landmines. The animals are also used to sniff out tuberculosis in human patients.
He told The Times: "Utilising a sustainable local resource, our Herorats, and involving our beneficiaries in the technology design and implementation processes, have proven to be critical factors."
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