Training costs about 10 million won, but it is cheaper than testing equipment such as X-rays and CTs.
ⓒNewsis The British Financial Times (FT) reported on the 30th (local time) that a plan is being put forward to use the ‘African giant opossum’, known as the world’s largest rat, to crack down on wildlife trafficking.
The media said that trained African giant opossums achieved excellent results in two experiments conducted at the port of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s largest city, and that they are preparing to expand their scope of activity to warehouses and terminals.
The FT also predicted that the African giant opossum’s role will become more diverse in the future, including detecting various threats ranging from tuberculosis pathogens to landmines.
Previously, scientists worked with a Tanzania-based animal training non-profit organization to train African giant opossums using their favorite food.
Scientists who participated in the training explained that African giant opossums were trained to detect illegally trafficked wild animals even if they were hidden in other substances.
He then argued that the biggest advantages of the African giant opossum are ▲relatively short training time ▲flexible work with a variety of trainers ▲cost efficiency.
The cost of training an African giant opossum, which is about 1 meter long from nose to tail when fully grown, is $7,000 to $8,000 (approximately 9.5 to 11 million won) per animal. However, scientists said it is much cheaper than electronic examination equipment such as X-rays or CT scans.
Scientists also reported that African giant opossums were trained to distinguish between specific scents and to ignore other scents, and were as good as dogs at remembering scents.
The rats are also trained to use custom-made vests to identify contraband and then use their front paws to pull on a ball attached to the clothing to set off a sonic alarm.
The African giant opossums that participated in this training were given unique names. The names include Kirsty, Marty, Irwin, Betty, Teddy, Ebony, Desmond, Thoreau, and Posey, named after environmentalists and anti-wildlife trafficking activists.
Meanwhile, a paper covering the results of this training was also published in the international academic journal ‘Frontiers in Conservation Science’.
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