Using Trained Pouched Rats to Detect Land Mines: Another Victory for Operant Conditioning

Abstract

We used giant African pouched rats (Cricetomys gambianus) as land mine-detection animals in Mozambique because they have an excellent sense of smell, weigh too little to activate mines, and are native to sub-Saharan Africa, and therefore are resistant to local parasites and diseases. In 2009 the rats searched 93,400 m(2) of land, finding 41 mines and 54 other explosive devices. Humans with metal detectors found no additional mines. On average, the rats emitted 0.33 false alarm for every 100 m(2) searched, which is below the threshold given by International Mine Action Standards for accrediting mine-detection animals. These findings indicate that Cricetomys are accurate mine-detection animals and merit continued use in this capacity.

Olfactory stimulus control and the behavioral pharmacology of remembering.

“…In contrast with their relatively poor performances with visual stimuli, rats show rapid learning and even learning set development with odor stimuli (Slotnick, 2001). The exceptional olfactory discrimination abilities of rodents have led to their use in applied settings to detect explosives and diagnose tuberculosis (Poling et al, 2011). Rats can also learn conditional discriminations fairly rapidly with odor stimuli (Lu, Slotnick, & Silberberg, 1993) and generalized identity and oddity have been demonstrated as well (April, Bruce, & Galizio, 2011; Pena, Pitts, & Galizio, 2006; Prichard, Panoz-Brown, Bruce, & Galizio, 2015).…”

Introduction to Molecular Sensors

“…A Belgian company Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling (APOPO) has begun training of African pouched rats (Cricetomys gambianus) for land mine-detection in Mozambique [60,61]. They are small enough not to activate mines, and are native to sub-Saharan Africa, and resistant to local parasites and diseases.…”

Ophthalmic examination findings and intraocular pressures in wild‐caught African giant pouched rats (Cricetomys spp.)

“…The average adult body length is 25 to 45 cm along with an approximately 40 cm tail. The average body weight is 1 to 2 kg with males weighing more than females . These giant pouched rats are of interest as pets in some regions of the world, and they are also utilized for different life‐saving tasks including detecting land mines and tuberculosis by olfaction.…”

“…On average, it costs 6000 euros (approximately $6557) to fully train one pouched rat, which is less than mine‐detecting dogs . At their adult size, giant pouched rats are light enough to not activate the buried mines . They can scan 200 square meters in 20 min, which would correlate to 25 h of work for a standard metal detector.…”

“…They can scan 200 square meters in 20 min, which would correlate to 25 h of work for a standard metal detector. In 2009, 34 giant pouched rats located 41 mines over a 93 400 m 2 area with a 0% miss rate . In 2013, pouched rat demining efforts made 8 521 766 m 2 of land available to local populations, which benefited over 900 000 people …”