Cambodia deploys rodents for life-saving mine detection operations

In Cambodia, African elephantine pouched rats person go captious allies successful detecting landmines that person devastated the Southeast Asian nation, contempt the squeamishness they mightiness origin some.

These important rodents – reaching up to 45cm (18in) agelong and weighing up to 1.5kg(3.3lb) – navigate minefields with agility, alerting handlers erstwhile they observe TNT, the superior explosive successful astir mines and ordnance.

“While moving with these rats, I person ever recovered mines and they person ne'er skipped a azygous one,” said Mott Sreymom, a handler astatine APOPO, the humanitarian organisation that trains and deploys these detection teams globally. “I truly spot these excavation detection rats,” she told The Associated Press astatine a Siem Reap state minefield.

Cambodia’s onshore has been extensively contaminated aft 3 decades of conflict. A 2004 survey by the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) identified astir 4,500 sq km (1,700sq miles) of affected terrain spanning each 25 provinces and astir fractional of Cambodia’s villages. As of 2018, 1,970 sq km (760sq miles) remained uncleared.

The rats’ exceptional consciousness of odor makes them invaluable to APOPO, which besides uses canine detection teams. “Dogs and rats are amended compared to different animals due to the fact that they are trainable,” explained Alberto Zacarias, a tract supervisor for APOPO’s method survey canine teams. “They are besides affable and easy larn commands.”

Since Cambodia’s demining efforts began officially successful 1992, much than 1.1 cardinal mines and astir 2.9 cardinal different explosive warfare remnants person been cleared, according to a 2022 authorities report.

For handlers similar Mott, these rodents are much than conscionable detection tools: “We enactment with them astir daily, truthful we get closer. They are precise affable and they don’t determination astir and get scared. They are similar family.”