Hero rats - Saving lives !!

I've read about these rats before. aren't they wonderful. rats are very intelligent animals, so can easily be trained to carry out these sort of tasks, and the added beauty of it is, unlike when dogs are used, the animals are at very little risk. because rats are so small and light, they won't trigger the mines. as a keeper of pet rats, I know how clever they are. really very intelligent animals. lots of people train pet rats to do tricks, and yes it takes a little patience, but because the main difficulty is getting a rat to focus on you while you train them, rather than them not being clever enough. they are very curious, so if there is anything else for them to take interest in, then they're off exploring. training rats is much easier in a small and fairly featureless room, so that there's nothing that they will think would be exciting to go and have a look at, and give you their full attention. they are wonderful and rewarding animals though, and I'm sure the soldiers working with them get a lot from their companionship as well as their life saving duties. intelligent, friendly, trainable, funny, and now life saving. what more do these wonderful animals need to do before people understand how much they have to offer as companions.

I couldn't get your link to work, so I don't know what the rats do. I do know that animals, if watched closely can forcast natural disasters. Even family pets can smell disaster. My cats would run and hide when someone they didn't know was at the door. When there is going to be a flood or hurricane, the animals usually go to higher grounds. If there are no birds in the woods, it could mean that there is something there that shouldn't be. I have also heard that they send birds down mines and if they die, there might not be enough oxygen for humans.

My Pawpaw was a coal miner in West Virginia. They trained canaries and other birds to let them know when the oxygen levels were getting low. I thought that was neat. I seen something somewhere that when there is a flood that rats will let you know by going uphill to higher ground or up in the mountains. It seems to me that we underestimate these critters by a bunch. They are smart and can help us in ways that we never thought of until the last minute.

I think that it would take alot of patience to train rats. Their brains are about the size of pea so they don't have alot going on. I had never heard about this either. It is surprising too how many minefields are still around and in need of clearing up and getting rid of. It is rather scarey.

Hiya Gany, Thanks very much I did not know about this one. Rats are not my favourite animal. But I do acknowledge that they are very intelligent to say the least. Very impressive article there. I was seeing the Rat in the Photo learning how to balance with the gadget she has around her. I hope they save lots of People´s lives now and in the future. Very good idea that as Rats learn very quickly. Some People will have them as pets but I cannot bear to have them by me. Even so I know that they are a must in this World and they have a right to be here too. Very interesting really is.