Giant 'hero rats' are solving wildlife crime

The rodents' super sense of smell helps them detect ivory, horn and other illegal products

- James Fair

NOBODY LOVES A DIRTY RAT, RIGHT? BUT what about an African giant pouched rat, a Goliath-sized rodent weighing 1.5-2kg (three to four times the size of our own brown rat) and native to the savannahs of southern Africa?

Over the past 25 years, these giant rats - known as 'hero rats' by the people who train them - have been used to detect deadly landmines and tuberculosis pathogens in medical samples.

Now, there's even more reason to love these rodents - they could play an important role in fighting the illegal wildlife trade, thanks to their amazing sense of smell.