Conversations with Critters
Walk with the animals. Talk with the animals. And the super sniffer heroism of Giant African Pouch Rats...
Today, Critters, we feature the most amazing incredible heroic scent detection animals, the African Giant Pouch Rats, Cricetomys ansorgei, who are hard at work to improve life around the world. From sniffing out landmines to sniffing out TB, from Search and Rescue in disasters to fighting crime in the illegal wildlife trafficking trade, these highly attuned olfactory gifted furbabies are lifesavers.
Giving of service through the non-governmental organization, APOPO, we find them so special, we’ve devoted a whole and complete conversation to these record breaking friends. Please, join our Core Community Critters Jasper Kitten, Chris and Jojo in excellent sniffer critter conversation.
Heidi: Hello and welcome welcome to our Furever Friday Post with a Critter of remarkable talents and training. I first learned about the African Giant Pouch Rats in 2005 when I studied with Dr. Jane Goodall. She taught us that the Rats are highly effective, able to sniff out TNT in landmines and too light weight to get blown up.
Jasper: Hello, Everyone! The lifesaving reputation and work of these Incredible Critters continues to grow and perhaps you’ve seen them in the news lately as Ronin, specifically, has set a new world record for clearing landmines in Cambodia. His record is 109 landmines and 15 additional UXOs (unexploded ordnances) in the Siem Reap region. Generally, these hardworking Furbabies have cleared tens of thousands of landmines around the world.
Chris: Friends! The Rats are restoring the land and saving lives and they’ve continued to branch out into other services due to their incredible intelligence and sense of smell.
Jojo: Welcome, one and all! Among the sniffer detection services, beyond landmines, are TB identification cuz the Rats are faster and better than the standard medical testing, Search and Rescue in disaster recovery and, furthermore, the Rats are cracking cases in the illegal wildlife trafficking trade such as sniffing out rhino horns, pangolin scales, and elephant ivory.
Jasper: Critters, this is a real life detective story.
Chris: And we all know how much we like detective stories here at CwC.
Jojo: We do.
Jasper: In terms of geography, our conversation starts in Morogoro, Tanzania.
Chris: Critters, location, location, location.
Jasper: Correct, Chris, this is the home base for the Rats at APOPO’s Training and Innovation Center.
Jojo: And APOPO has roots in Belgium as an NGO, founded in 1997. They also work with dogs which really appeals to my own senses.
Jasper: Thank you for that canine centric point of view, Jojo.
Jojo: You’re welcome! But back to the Rats! They have a lifespan of 6-8 years and, as noted above, are too light weight to get blown up, tipping the scales for female rats between 957g and 1157g and for male rats between 1075g and 1275g.
Jasper: From their home base in Tanzania, the Rats are deployed to work as landmine scent detection critters around the world in countries such as Cambodia, Ukraine, Angola and Azerbaijan.
Chris: How are they trained to carrying out their scent detection work?
Jasper: Thank you for the question, Chris.
Chris: Of course, Jasper. Training is news to me except for the part where I’ve trained our Hooman to feed us as required and on demand. The end.
Jasper: Correct, Chris. From the time the Rats are born at their home base, they’re socialized through positive reinforcement. At 4-6 weeks of age they have their socialization training, then at 10 weeks old they begin clicker training which rewards them with peanuts or bananas as they learn to identify the specific scents, such as TNT or TB.
Chris: Incredible.
Jojo: Impressive.
Jasper: It. Is. Then, once the Rats have learned the specific scent, they advance to their discrimination training, and then are deployed to one of the main tasks, MDR (Mine Detection Rats) or TBDR (Tuberculosis Detection Rats).
Jojo: Furthermore, their MDR training and the detection work itself is performed while they are attached to a line and searching in a grid pattern. They are not distracted by anything while they work to find their target scent. Full stop.
Chris: Imagine. That. The. End.
Jasper: Correct. Chris. Not. Distracted. By. Anything.
Chris: Thank you, Jasper, I’m taking notes. The end. Again.
Jasper: Critters, I recently turned 3 years old. Ronin is 5 years old and was deployed in 2021 to Cambodia. Given his age, he can continue to work and be of service, on average, for two more years, so his record will keep getting better.
Jojo: Let’s share a video from APOPO of Ronin hard at work saving lives for the edification and enjoyment of our Dear Gentle Critters and Dear Gentle Readers:
Jojo: Critters, one further point about the incredible sniffer careers of the Rats is their Retirement.
Jasper: Good point, Jojo. This must be highly relatable to you as a Senior Adopted Dog.
Jojo: Yes, highly relatable, Jasper. Thank you very much.
Chris: Do they get their rest and relaxation, known in the vernacular as R & R, on the Couch?
Jojo: Close, Chris. After a long life of service, at the age of 7-8 years old, they retire to super comfy home cages with additional outdoor time for overall daily stimulation and enrichment. The end.
Chris: And naps?
Jojo: Thank you for this additional existential retirement question, Chris.
Chris: Of course, Jojo. I’m all ears.
Jojo: Yes. Naps are a go.
Chris: Excellent.
Jasper: Critters, thank you for joining us for the lifesaving worldwide work of the African Giant Pouch Rats.
Chris: They’re making the world a better place.
Jojo: Furever. And remember, Critters, I luvluvluv you, so please stay safe and have fun out there.
Jasper: Friends, we’ll see you next time for our Detective Tuesday Post and Chapter 15 of The Case of the Bowled Over Bowler Hat!
Jojo: The.
Chris: End.
🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾
Poetry with Pets
Both land and body
African giant pouch rats
Scent detection heals
By Jasper Kitten, Chris and Jojo
Thank you for reading luvluvluv Jasper Kitten, Chris, and Jojo
Critters! Catch up on all of the mystery and adventure with The Case of the Bowled Over Bowler Hat! Book Number 2! Brought to you by the J Kitten, Sleuth & Purveyor of Bright Shiny Objects Detective Agency!
Chap. 1🐾Chap. 2🐾Chap. 3🐾Chap. 4🐾Chap. 5🐾Chap. 6🐾Chap.7🐾Chap. 8🐾Chap. 9🐾Chap. 10🐾Chap. 11🐾Chap. 12🐾Chap. 13🐾Chap. 14
Furthermore!
The Case of the Misplaced Priority Envelope! The Complete Book Number 1!
Chap. 1🐾Chap. 2🐾Chap. 3🐾Chap. 4🐾Chap. 5🐾Chap. 6🐾Chap. 7🐾Chap. 8🐾Chap. 9🐾Chap. 10🐾Chap. 11🐾Chap. 12🐾Chap. 13🐾Chap.14🐾Chap. 15🐾Chap. 16🐾Chap. 17🐾Chap. 18🐾Chap. 19🐾Chap. 20
(Coming soon to IngramSpark, too!)
The Case of the Misplaced Priority Envelope
Thanks for sharing, Heidi. It was really eye-opening for me. Rats usually freak me out because of a childhood memory, but this African giant pouched rat is a totally different critter!
Wow, Heidi, I had no idea African Giant Pouch Rats existed. Amazing! I also learned from this fantastic post that you worked with Dr. Jane Goodall - say what?! I would love to know how that happened. I first watched her decades ago on a National Geo Special when I was a very young child and was so taken with her. Wowie. Amazing! (I know, I said that already). " Too light weight to get blown up" got my attention. Fascinating animals, careers, so much info. A million thumbs up! And your critters' comments are always delightful and spot on. 😁