Hero rats
Every year many people lose their life after being buried in the debris due to earthquakes because at times it becomes difficult to contact them. In such a situation, now rats have come to the rescue. Rats will help in saving the lives of people buried in the rubble. A Tanzanian scientist has developed a system with the help of which rats can locate people trapped in the debris.
For this, scientists from Africa and an NGO named Apopo have started training rats. Sitting on their backs, these rats will be able to save the lives of people trapped in the rubble by helping the rescue team. Microphones, video devices and location trackers will be placed in bags hung on the backs of the mice. Through these things, the rescue workers will be able to contact the people trapped in the rubble. With this, by locating their location, they will be able to save their lives.
Dr. Donna Keane, who is leading this research, says that so far 7 rats have been trained for this project. These rats have learned everything in just two weeks. The rats selected for the project belong to a species of pouched rats found in Africa. They have been named 'Hero Rats'.
According to the information, these rats have been selected because it is very easy to train them. Along with this, these rats also have more sense of smell. These rats easily enter the smallest of the places. Rats live an average of 6 to 8 years and are economical to feed. Also, these rats are successful in avoiding most diseases.
According to Dr. Keane, 170 rats are being trained simultaneously for this project. Upon completion of the training, these rats will be sent to Turkey to work with the search and rescue team, where earthquakes are frequently reported. At present, rats are being trained in fake debris.
