Rats Used To Sniff Out Land Mines
03/31/09 - Odd Articles
“His highly sensitive nose can sniff out explosives at 50 paces. And because he weighs a mere 3lb, there is no chance of him setting them off when he finds them. Kofi the Gambian pouched rat is the latest weapon in the battle against landmines – the relics of war that litter large parts of Africa and kill thousands every year… ‘Kofi is amazing, his sniff ability is really incredible,’ she said. ‘People think of rats as vermin but they are highly intelligent creatures – They have a more heightened sense of smell than dogs and because they are so much lighter they have less chance of setting off an explosive.” w/ photos
