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Trained Rats for Mine Detection
rikomatic writes "The dangerous profession of anti-personnel mine detection is getting a surprising new tool: giant Gambian rats (NY Times reg). Some resourceful Belgians have figured out how to train these 30-inch rodents to hunt out landmines. They are cheaper and work harder than dogs and are more reliable than metal detectors. Plus, if one of them blows up, who's going to cry?"
Well I'm gonna guess PETA might care. They aren't happy about the military using dolphins.
I saw a docu on national TV on this.
They were training the rats. They had to stop at dishes with TNT traces.
The trainers gradually reduced the amount of TNT. It was reduced so far that it was undetectable, yet the rats still stopped.
The bastards no longer reacted on the TNT, but at the smell of the guy who filled the dishes every day. They had to be retrained, wasting a few months.
But, hey, you can't blame them taking the easy road.
In my experience, only if the dog is abysmally lazy. Dogs don't fetch a stick to do work, they fetch because they want to play.
<anecdote> I recall when I lived with my parents, they had a sheltie that had way more endurance for "fetch" than I, or anyone else in the family for that matter, ever did. She'd go for 30 or 40 tosses easily before wanting to take a breather and you'd think she'd had enough, but then after about 3 or 4 minutes, she'd be carrying the stick up to you again and drop it at your feet to throw it again... rather comical to watch, really... she'd drop it, and look up at you expectantly, and wait for a few seconds... if you didn't pick it up, she'd pick it up herself and then drop it again right at your feet, then she'd run away, all the while looking back to see if you are throwing the stick, if you still didn't pick it up, she'd come back to you and pick the stick up and drop it again at your feet (rinse, lather, repeat). Talk about single-minded!!! </anecdote>
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
In fact, Apopo uses rats, in part, because they are lightweight and very unlikely to set off landmines. (Otherwise native wildlife would routinely set off mines.) It would not be a very effective solution if they spent 1/3 of the animal's life training it and then sent it out to be killed the first time it found a mine. The rats that they train have a natural life expectancy of around 8 years - and the handlers want them to live as long as possible to maximize the time and effort. There is even an alternative method they are investigating which involves filters - the rats don't even go near the suspected areas. I can't see much that PETA could complain about here.
I was taking one day at a time, but then several days got together and ambushed me. (from a Rhymes with Orange comic)