How Ivory The Contraband-Sniffing Giant African Pouched Rat Gets It Done
African giant pouched rats proved adept at detecting four commonly trafficked products derived from endangered species including rhino horn and elephant ivory Researchers have trained african giant pouched rats to sniff out tuberculosis and explosives in the past. And they have now expanded the rodents’ scent repertoire to detect. African giant pouched rats (cricetomys gambianus) could be the next line of defense in the illegal wildlife trade. Daniel, an african giant pouched rat, searches through debris in a simulated disaster zone during a search and rescue training exercise at an apopo training facility in.
In the fight against illegal wildlife trafficking, an unexpected group of heroes has emerged: African giant pouched rats. Known for detecting landmines and diagnosing. Here, a rat on a lead searches for. The researchers were able to train rats to pick up on the scent of elephant ivory, rhino horn, african blackwood, and pangolin scales, the latter being the. The african giant pouched rat is the world’s largest rat, weighing three pounds on average and stretching some two to three feet long, from the nose to the tip of the tail.