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Scientists Train Giant Rats to Detect Smuggled Exotic Animals

d vest includes a ball attached to it. When the rat detects a forbidden item, it pulls on the ball, triggering a beep that alerts its handler.

The training program is still in its trial phase, but the rats are already making impressive progress. They’ve successfully identified target items from over 150 non-target objects. Their next challenge is the bustling airport in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where they’ll face real-world conditions filled with competing smells.

If the rats succeed, they’ll officially move into “operational” roles in airport security and similar travel spaces within the next few years. The hope is that they’ll help stop exotic animal traffickers in their tracks.

As these giant rats—roughly the size of cats—prepare to join the ranks of working animals like police dogs, they’re proving that there’s room for all kinds of furry heroes. Let’s just hope they don’t decide to hop on a plane instead of reporting back to their handlers!

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