Since the early 2000s, Apopo's African giant pouched rats have been using their acute sense of smell to sniff out landmines and detect TB in sputum samples. Now, they look set to become search-and-rescue specialists too.
It takes Daniel just two minutes to locate his target, a man in a blue coveralls slumped against a wall. Daniel stands on his hind legs and uses his front paws to pull a switch attached to his custom-made rescue vest, sending a signal to his handlers outside the building that he has successfully completed his mission.
In search-and-rescue operations, every minute counts, but canine units can't penetrate inside the debris, and camera probes and robots can only penetrate to an extent, says Danielle Giangrasso, a behavioral research scientist and the head of Apopo's rescue rat program.
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