I saw a segment tonight on I think an 'Animal Planet' production called "When animals talk" that I thought was mucho cool'o. They've trained rats to sniff out land mines. These rats were brown, so I suppose they were some species of field rats, rather than lab rats, but they were much larger than field rats than I'm familiar with, perhaps weighing up to a pound each. The handlers lay out a grid with rope, and the rats walk up and down the grid in neat lines, sniffing and "alerting" when they smell a land mine by scratching at the ground like a drug dog does to hit on a drug smelling spot.
Quite cool also, aside from the revulsion factor to rats, was the factor that these critters become "pets" of their handlers, first walking on leashes, and then following their handlers around without leashes, just on their own choice based on their training.
Who'd a thunk it? I wouldn't have figured a rat would have the brains to be trained that far.
I'm not an "animal rights" wacko by any means, certainly I don't disparage anyone from poisoning, snap-trapping or whatever their domestic vermin, but it seems almost daily I get a new charge of warm fuzzies from a different critter I thought worthless after watching another 'Animal Planet' production.
Tomorrow's post, "Meerkat manor"- now don't tell me you don't think they're cute... Sure they may be South Africa's version of prairie-dogs and a bane to farmers, but they are excessively cute..
