Throughout the world, places that have been involved in war and/or civil strife often have large minefields that still need clearing. In 2013, it was estimated that there was a global average of around nine mine-related deaths every day. The situation is especially dire in Africa.

Typically, clearing a minefield involves men in body armor walking in very precise lines with metal detectors. Anything (from a rusty nail to an old ammo cartridge) that sets the detectors off must be investigated before moving on. A new method of bomb detection using rats, however, is flipping this process on its head.

A Belgian NGO called APOPO has developed a way to train African pouched rats (named for the storage pouch in their cheeks) to sniff out bombs quickly and safely.

They used this rat because it has an incredibly fine-tuned sense of smell and a long lifespan (8-9 years) to yield returns on the nine months of training they undergo.

They’re called HeroRats, and not one has died in the line of duty since the program started in 1997.

The average mine requires 5 kg (roughly 11 pounds) of weight to trigger an explosion, but even the biggest of these rats are only around 1.5 kg (3.3 pounds).

Since they’re trained to sniff out explosives exclusively, they aren’t distracted by other metal objects the way human minesweepers are.

They can effectively search 200 square meters in less than 20 minutes.

A team of humans would need around 25 hours to do the same job.

Since they’re in the African sun a lot, the HeroRats get sunscreen to keep them cancer free.

If a rat does get cancer, it receives full medical treatment.

The rats are “paid” in avocados, peanuts, bananas and other yummy, healthy treats.

After about 4-5 years on the job (or whenever they lose interest in working), they’re allowed to retire.

Retirement consists of eating all the tasty fruit their little hero hearts desire.

If you’d like to learn more please visit the APOPO website, where you can also adopt a HeroRat for just $7 per month or $84 per year.

Via: Bored Panda