In a world where the Anti -man’s mines they continue to represent a concrete threat, good news arrives that features .. a mouse. Is called Ronin and entered the Guinness of primates for identifying well 109 mine And 15 unexploded devicesexceeding the record of its famous predecessor Magawa.
The merit of this success goes to the project Heroratslaunched by the non -profit organization Apopwhich for years has been trained from African giant rats to smell hidden explosives underground. In different regions ofAsia and of theAfricaespecially in countries like CambodiaIn fact, mines represent a lethal legacy of past conflicts.
It is estimated that in the world there are still about 110 million mines buried. Traditional removal methods are slow and expensive: a mine can cost $ 30 to be positioned, but up to 1000 dollars to be defused.
After 5 years of service they retire
This is where i rats heroes. Thanks to theirs highly developed smellthese rodents are able to detect too small traces of Tntthe chemical compound present in most bombs. Starting from Six weeks of lifethe rats begin a training course based on positive reinforcementassociating the sound of a “click” a food rewards Like banana and peanuts.
Their training provides several phases: socialization with human beings, recognition of smells, simulations in artificial mined fields and final tests without clues. Only the best are certified for field activity. They work for 30 minutes a day and are treated with attention and respect even after the “pension”, which arrives towards i five years of service.
Ronin works alongside his PHANNY trainer And it represents a virtuous example of collaboration between humans and animals. No rat has ever died during the operations, demonstrating the Safety of the method.
But Apopo does not stop at the rats: he also started the project Herodogsin which dogs and rodents collaborate to reclaim the territories infested with mine, exploiting their complementary skills. In an era in which technology seems the only answer, the apop rats show that sometimes there Natura offers simple, economic and extraordinarily effective solutions. And who knows how many other records will establish in the coming years.
