RESCUE RATS
Rodents being trained to find earthquake survivors
RATS with tiny backpacks are being trained to find earthquake survivors buried under rubble.
The rodents can carry microphones, location trackers and video equipment on their mission, enabling rescue teams to communicate with the stricken.
Research scientist Dr Donna Kean, 33, from Glasgow, has been training the animals in Tanzania, East Africa.
She said: “Rats would be able to get into small spaces to get to victims buried in rubble.
“We have the potential to speak to victims through the rat.”
The rodents are also trained to respond to a “beep”, which calls them back to their base.
Donna added: “They are so agile, they are so good at moving through all kinds of different environments.
“They are perfect for search and rescue-type work.
“They are very good at surviving in different environments, which just shows how suitable they are for search and rescue work.”
Donna is working with the non-profit organisation APOPO, which has already trained African pouched rats to find landmines and sniff out TB from human sputum samples.
She said: “They are very trainable, the first stage is to train them to come back to base point – they respond to a beep.
“There is a misconception they are dirty and unhygienic,
“They are well looked after with us, they are sociable animals.”
Dogs are often used to search for earthquake survivors but rats are even better at the job as they are smaller and more flexible.
Seven “HeroRATs” have been trained so far and Donna says it takes only two weeks to teach them.
It is hoped Donna’s rats will be tested
in the field in Turkey, a country prone to earthquakes. She said: “We have not been in a real situation yet, we have got a mock debris site here in Tanzania.
“When we get the new backpacks we will be able to hear from where we are based and where the rat is, inside the debris.
“A colleague is a seamstress, she makes the backpacks, she’s very talented. We are getting custom-made ones that will have video recorders, microphones and a location transmitter. It’s quite unusual.
“We hope it will save lives, the results are really promising.”
The rats are so agile, very trainable and perfect for search and rescue work
DR DONNA KEAN RESEARCH SCIENTIST TRAINING RODENTS