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Magawa the rat wins animal hero award for detecting landmines in Cambodia

JacksinPA

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  • The giant African pouched rat has discovered 39 mines and 28 items of unexploded ordinance in the past seven years
  • More than 60 million people in 59 countries continue to be threatened by such devices
Unexploded mines & ordnance are a major problem in much of Eurasia. Apparently they can be detected by their odor if small animals with very sensitive senses of smell are used. The challenge is using an animal small & light enough to not detonate mines. This report shows the success gotten by using the Gambian pouched rat (Cricetomys gambianus). It has poor eye sight but excellent sense of smell. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambian_pouched_rat.
 
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