{"id":642849,"date":"2024-10-30T08:00:01","date_gmt":"2024-10-30T05:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/african-giant-rats-trained-to-sniff-out-illegal-wildlife-products\/"},"modified":"2024-10-30T08:00:01","modified_gmt":"2024-10-30T05:00:01","slug":"african-giant-rats-trained-to-sniff-out-illegal-wildlife-products","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/african-giant-rats-trained-to-sniff-out-illegal-wildlife-products\/","title":{"rendered":"#African giant rats trained to sniff out illegal wildlife products"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a40b43c41e66\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a40b43c41e66\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/african-giant-rats-trained-to-sniff-out-illegal-wildlife-products\/#Ratting_out_wildlife_trafficking\" >Ratting out wildlife trafficking<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/african-giant-rats-trained-to-sniff-out-illegal-wildlife-products\/#Rats_in_action\" >Rats in action<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2024\/giant-rats-could-soon.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2024\/giant-rats-could-soon.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Researchers trained African giant pouched rats to detect illegally trafficked wildlife species and remember targets for several months. Credit: APOPO\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2024\/giant-rats-could-soon.jpg\" alt=\"Giant rats could soon fight illegal wildlife trade by sniffing out elephant tusk and rhino horn\" title=\"Researchers trained African giant pouched rats to detect illegally trafficked wildlife species and remember targets for several months. Credit: APOPO\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                Researchers trained African giant pouched rats to detect illegally trafficked wildlife species and remember targets for several months. Credit: APOPO<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In the past, African giant pouched rats have learned to detect explosives and the tuberculosis-causing pathogen. Now, a team of researchers have trained these rats to pick up the scent of pangolin scales, elephant ivory, rhino horn, and African blackwood. These animals and plants are listed as threatened and at high danger of extinction.<\/p>\n<p>                                                                                                                                    &#8220;Our study shows that we can train African giant pouched rats to detect illegally trafficked wildlife, even when it has been concealed among other substances,&#8221; said Dr. Isabelle Szott, a researcher at the Okeanos Foundation, and first co-author of the study published in <i>Frontiers in Conservation <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science<\/a><\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The rats also continued to detect the wildlife targets after not encountering that species for a long period,&#8221; added first co-author Dr. Kate Webb, an assistant professor at Duke University.<\/p>\n<p>The research for the present study was conducted at APOPO, a Tanzania-based, non-profit organization that provides low-tech, cost-efficient solutions to pressing humanitarian challenges.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ratting_out_wildlife_trafficking\"><\/span>Ratting out wildlife trafficking<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The rats\u2014Kirsty, Marty, Attenborough, Irwin, Betty, Teddy, Ivory, Ebony, Desmond, Thoreau, and Fossey; some of them named after conservationists and advocates against wildlife trafficking\u2014underwent several training stages. During indication training, the rats learned to hold their noses for several seconds in a hole in which the target scent was placed. When they correctly performed this &#8216;nose poke&#8217; they were rewarded with flavored rodent pellets.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2024\/giant-rats-could-soon-1.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2024\/giant-rats-could-soon-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"During training, rats were rewarded when they correctly performed a 'nose poke' in a hole containing a target. Credit: APOPO\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2024\/giant-rats-could-soon-1.jpg\" alt=\"Giant rats could soon fight illegal wildlife trade by sniffing out elephant tusk and rhino horn\" title=\"During training, rats were rewarded when they correctly performed a 'nose poke' in a hole containing a target. Credit: APOPO\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                During training, rats were rewarded when they correctly performed a &#8216;nose poke&#8217; in a hole containing a target. Credit: APOPO<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In the next step, the rats were introduced to non-target odors. These included electric cables, coffee beans, and washing powder\u2014objects that are frequently used to mask the scent of wildlife in real-life trafficking operations. &#8220;During the discrimination stage, rats learn to only signal the odors of the wildlife targets, while ignoring non-targets,&#8221; Szott said.<\/p>\n<p>The rats were also trained to remember smells. At the end of their retention training, they were re-introduced to scents they&#8217;d not encountered for five and eight months, respectively. Despite months of non-exposure, the rats showed perfect retention scores, suggesting that their cognitive retention performance resembles that of dogs.<\/p>\n<p>By the end of the training, eight rats were able to identify four commonly smuggled wildlife species among 146 non-target substances.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2024\/giant-rats-could-soon-2.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2024\/giant-rats-could-soon-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"In real life settings, rats will be able to pull a small ball attached at the chest of their vest, which emits a beeping sound. This way rats will be able to alert their handlers when they detect a target.  Credit: APOPO\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2024\/giant-rats-could-soon-2.jpg\" alt=\"Giant rats could soon fight illegal wildlife trade by sniffing out elephant tusk and rhino horn\" title=\"In real life settings, rats will be able to pull a small ball attached at the chest of their vest, which emits a beeping sound. This way rats will be able to alert their handlers when they detect a target.  Credit: APOPO\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                In real life settings, rats will be able to pull a small ball attached at the chest of their vest, which emits a beeping sound. This way rats will be able to alert their handlers when they detect a target.  Credit: APOPO<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Rats_in_action\"><\/span>Rats in action<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&#8220;Existing screening tools are expensive and time intensive and there is an urgent need to increase cargo screening. APOPO&#8217;s rats are cost-efficient scent detection tools. They can easily access tight spaces like cargo in packed shipping containers or be lifted up high to screen the ventilation systems of sealed containers,&#8221; Szott explained.<\/p>\n<p>The next step, the scientists said, is to develop ways for the rats to work within ports through which smuggled wildlife is trafficked. For this purpose, the rats will be outfitted with custom-made vests. With their front paws, they will be able to pull a small ball attached at the chest of their vest, which emits a beeping sound. This way, rats will be able to alert their handlers when they detect a target.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The vests are a great example of developing hardware that could be useful across different settings and tasks, including at a shipping port to detect smuggled wildlife,&#8221; said Webb.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"article-gallery js-article-gallery\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2024\/giant-rats-could-soon-3.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2024\/giant-rats-could-soon-3.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"The rats learned to identify and remember the scent of pangolin scales, elephant ivory, rhino horn, and African blackwood. These animals and plants are listed as threatened and at high danger of extinction. Credit: APOPO\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800\/2024\/giant-rats-could-soon-3.jpg\" alt=\"Giant rats could soon fight illegal wildlife trade by sniffing out elephant tusk and rhino horn\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-low-up text-truncate mt-3\">\n                    The rats learned to identify and remember the scent of pangolin scales, elephant ivory, rhino horn, and African blackwood. These animals and plants are listed as threatened and at high danger of extinction. Credit: APOPO<br \/>\n                <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2024\/giant-rats-could-soon-4.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2024\/giant-rats-could-soon-4.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"During their training, the rats were rewarded with flavored rodent pellets. Credit: APOPO\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800\/2024\/giant-rats-could-soon-4.jpg\" alt=\"Giant rats could soon fight illegal wildlife trade by sniffing out elephant tusk and rhino horn\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-low-up text-truncate mt-3\">\n                    During their training, the rats were rewarded with flavored rodent pellets. Credit: APOPO<br \/>\n                <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2024\/giant-rats-could-soon-5.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2024\/giant-rats-could-soon-5.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"The study shows that African giant pouched rats to detect illegally trafficked wildlife, even when it has been concealed among other substances. Credit: APOPO\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800\/2024\/giant-rats-could-soon-5.jpg\" alt=\"Giant rats could soon fight illegal wildlife trade by sniffing out elephant tusk and rhino horn\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-low-up text-truncate mt-3\">\n                    The study shows that African giant pouched rats to detect illegally trafficked wildlife, even when it has been concealed among other substances. Credit: APOPO<br \/>\n                <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2024\/giant-rats-could-soon-6.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2024\/giant-rats-could-soon-6.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"By the end of the training, eight rats were able to identify four commonly smuggled wildlife species among 146 non-target substances. Credit: APOPO\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800\/2024\/giant-rats-could-soon-6.jpg\" alt=\"Giant rats could soon fight illegal wildlife trade by sniffing out elephant tusk and rhino horn\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-low-up text-truncate mt-3\">\n                    By the end of the training, eight rats were able to identify four commonly smuggled wildlife species among 146 non-target substances. Credit: APOPO<br \/>\n                <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This proof-of-principle study demonstrates that rats can successfully identify trafficked wildlife. This does not mean that it comes without limitations, the researchers said. For example, the study was conducted in a controlled environment, which is not reflective of the settings in which wildlife is commonly trafficked or screened by scent-detection animals.<\/p>\n<p>To deploy rats for this task, new methods need to be developed, the researchers pointed out.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Wildlife smuggling is often conducted by individuals engaged in other illegal activities, including human, drug, and arms trafficking. Therefore, deploying rats to combat wildlife trafficking may assist with the global fight against networks that exploit humans and nature,&#8221; concluded Webb.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-main__more p-4\">\n                                                                                        <strong>More information:<\/strong><br \/>\n                                                Ratting on wildlife crime: Training African giant pouched rats to detect illegally trafficked wildlife, <i>Frontiers in Conservation Science<\/i> (2024). <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-doi=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.3389\/fcosc.2024.1444126\">DOI: 10.3389\/fcosc.2024.1444126<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                                        <!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>                                                <strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n                                                African giant rats trained to sniff out illegal wildlife products (2024, October 30)<br \/>\n                                                retrieved 30 October 2024<br \/>\n                                                from https:\/\/phys.org\/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>\/2024-10-giant-rats-illegal-wildlife-sniffing.html<\/p>\n<p>                                             This document is subject to copyright. 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Credit: APOPO In the past, African giant pouched rats have learned to detect explosives and the tuberculosis-causing pathogen. Now, a team of researchers have trained these rats to pick up the scent of pangolin scales, elephant ivory,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":642850,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2024\/giant-rats-could-soon.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-642849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=642849"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642849\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/642850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=642849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=642849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=642849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}