Giant African rats that weigh 1.5-2 kg and are 3-4 times the size of brown rats can be used to fight illegal wildlife trafficking, according to a study published last month by nonprofit APOPO. Natives to the savannahs of southern Africa, these giant rats, also known as ‘hero rats’ by people who train them, have been used to detect deadly land mines and tuberculosis pathogens in samples. The scientists now believe they can be trained to identify illegally trafficked wildlife through scent detection.

The study, conducted in Morogoro, Tanzania in eastern Africa between December 2017 and December 2021, demonstrated that the giant rats successfully detected samples of elephant ivory, rhino horn, pangolin scales and African hardwood even when these wildlife products were mixed with non-target items.

“Scent-detection animals present an innovative approach to combatting illegal wildlife trade, as animals may be better suited to distinguish between organic materials and less susceptible to visual concealment methods,” read the study.

It noted that current methods to combat illegal wildlife trade and screen these shipping containers, such as X-ray scans, were expensive and time-consuming. According to a report in Discover Wildlife, it takes approximately $30,000 to train a dog while airport scanners can cost anywhere between $30,000 to $1.2 million. However, training a detection rat costs only $8,000.

Additionally, the rats are not picky about their handlers compared to dogs who often work with the same officer. As per senior research scientist Isabelle Szott, one of the co-authors of the study, the light weight of the giant rats also plays an “important aspect for wildlife product detection because we can lift rats to higher locations such as air ventilation systems of shipping containers”.

“They can go where dogs cannot, in other words,” she added.

Despite the success of the study, scientists said “further research is needed to establish deployment feasibility”. For outside tests, the rats will be required to wear custom-made vests that have a small ball in front, emitting a beeping sound. When a rat wishes to alert its handler about a suspected target, it will use its front paws to pull and sound the ball.

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Illegal wildlife trade

The illegal wildlife trade is considered the fourth largest transnational crime economy, estimated to be worth between $7-23 billion dollars and is linked closely to crimes such as money laundering, corruption and trafficking of drugs, weapons and/or humans.

Additionally, the spread of zoonotic diseases is usually linked to the unregulated illegal trade of species across countries exacerbating public health emergencies such as the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Cats and dogs have long been cherished as some of the most popular pets worldwide, admired for their companionship, loyalty, and distinct personalities. These creatures continue to improve the lives of families all around the world, whether it’s because of the independent appeal of cats or the devoted character of dogs.

Cat owners are aware that their animals move differently from other pets. Cats are often characterised as “liquid,” as if their bodies just spilt into any place they happened to inhabit. Many pet owners have been amazed by this fluid-like action, and it appears that cats are aware of their amazing skill, as they frequently display a smug demeanour while doing so.

Cats are cherished pets for more reasons than just their fluid motions. Their personalities, which are frequently marked by humour and independence, make them enticing company. Whether it’s the grace or loyalty of a dog, these pets never fail to win people over and deepen the relationship that exists between people and animals.

According to the new research that has been published in iScience, cats selectively rely on body size awareness when negotiating short openings.

According to the author of the research paper, various animal species can make a priori decisions about the passability of openings based on their own size knowledge. So far, no one has tested the ability for self-representation in cats. We hypothesised that cats may rely on their size awareness when they have to negotiate small openings.

Companion cats were tested with incrementally decreasing-sized openings, which were either the same height or the same width. Cats approached and entered even the narrowest openings, but they slowed down before reaching and while passing through the shortest ones.

Because of their specific anatomical features and cautious locomotory strategy, cats readily opt for the trial-and-error method to negotiate narrow apertures, but they seemingly rely on their body-size representing capacity in the case of uncomfortably short openings. Ecologically valid methodologies can provide answers in the future as to whether cats would rely on their body awareness in other challenging spatial tasks, the authors of the study wrote.