Giant African rats during training. Giant African rats that weigh 1.5-2 kg and are 3-4 times the size of brown rats can be used to fight illegal wildlife trafficking, according to a study ...

Researchers trained African giant pouched rats to detect commonly smuggled items, including rhino horns and elephant tusks Sarah Kuta Daily Correspondent Poachers and wildlife traffickers go to ...

Forget fictional Rodents of Unusual Size – for wildlife traffickers, there are real life giant rats to be feared, after researchers successfully trained African giant pouched rats to pick up the ...

Giant African rats may soon be the key to fighting illegal wildlife trafficking. New research from nonprofit APOPO, published Oct. 29, shows that African giant pouched rats can be trained to ...

They’re rats. And they wear tiny red vests. African giant pouched rats have been trained to identify pangolin scales, elephant ivory and other items from at-risk species, researchers report ...

The first ever image of Vangunu giant 1.5-foot-long rat. Credit: Dr Tyrone Lavery / The University of Melbourne Researchers in the Solomon Islands have successfully captured recently the first images ...

A new study shows that African giant pouched rats to detect illegally trafficked wildlife, even when it has been concealed among other substances. Image: APOPO Pangolin scales, elephant tusks, rhino ...

More information: Ratting on wildlife crime: Training African giant pouched rats to detect illegally trafficked wildlife, Frontiers in Conservation Science (2024). DOI: 10.3389/fcosc.2024.1444126 ...

While enormous rats might be many people's nightmare, these huge rodents could be a key weapon in the battle against the trading of illegal wildlife goods. African giant pouched rats can be ...

Now, a species of giant pouched rat has been trained to fulfill a similar role in finding illegal wildlife products. The rodents who underwent the training are African giant pouched rats and ...