Patriot Heart
05-11-2006, 08:28 AM
I Love this. We have three pet rats. They are very intelligent and never bite, far superior as a rodent pet than the many many hamster, gerbils, mice etc., my kids have had.
Rats trained to sniff out bombs, mines
By Cesar Garcia, The Associated Press
BOGOTA, Colombia — Watch out Fido — your days on the force may be numbered. Out for your job are Lola and Espejo, two whiskered, red-eyed rats that police in Colombia are training to sniff out bombs and land mines.
The two rodents are part of an experimental six-rat squadron that police are preparing for dangerous missions to defuse the more than 100,000 land mines that litter Colombia's countryside after four decades of war between the government and leftist rebels.
snip
To earn their stripes, the rats have spent the past year undergoing a daily training regimen, wherein they are placed in a maze with C-4 explosives and other bomb-making materials. When they detect the target, they're rewarded with a cracker to nibble on and a few gentle caresses behind the ears.
The rats are able to locate the explosives 83% of the time, the trainers said. But they estimate it could be another six months before they reach their goal of a 100% success rate and the rats are pressed into active duty.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2006-04-20-rats-bomb-sniffers_x.htm
Rats trained to sniff out bombs, mines
By Cesar Garcia, The Associated Press
BOGOTA, Colombia — Watch out Fido — your days on the force may be numbered. Out for your job are Lola and Espejo, two whiskered, red-eyed rats that police in Colombia are training to sniff out bombs and land mines.
The two rodents are part of an experimental six-rat squadron that police are preparing for dangerous missions to defuse the more than 100,000 land mines that litter Colombia's countryside after four decades of war between the government and leftist rebels.
snip
To earn their stripes, the rats have spent the past year undergoing a daily training regimen, wherein they are placed in a maze with C-4 explosives and other bomb-making materials. When they detect the target, they're rewarded with a cracker to nibble on and a few gentle caresses behind the ears.
The rats are able to locate the explosives 83% of the time, the trainers said. But they estimate it could be another six months before they reach their goal of a 100% success rate and the rats are pressed into active duty.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2006-04-20-rats-bomb-sniffers_x.htm