Rats could be the latest weapon deployed in the fight against endangered wildlife trafficking, according to a study of rodents trained to sniff out pangolin scales, rhino horns, elephant tusks, and hardwood.Researchers trained eight African giant pouched rats to sniff out the contraband, even when it was hidden among items commonly used to hide trafficked goods, including peanuts, leaves, wigs, and washing powder.The market for illegal wildlife products is worth up to $20 billion annually, Interpol said last year.The rats were studied by scientists at Apopo, a Belgian-founded, Tanzania-based NGO, whose rodents also sniff out land mines and tuberculosis.Named after conservationists including David Attenborough, the animals were initially rewarded with a food pellet if they held their nose for three seconds over a sample of pangolin scale, wood, rhino horn, or elephant ivory.In simulations, they were dressed in tiny red vests attached to leashes, with a beeper attached to the front so they could use their front paws to alert their handlers when they found contraband — for which they would receive another reward of food.The rats were able to perfectly detect pangolin, wood, and rhino horn after eight months of not smelling them, according to Apopo’s study, which was published in the journal Frontiers in Conserv …
