The Gambian pouched rat (Cricetomys gambianus), despite its name, is more closely related to the hamster. The pouches give it away. Found on both sides of the animal’s face, they are used to transport huge amounts of food to the animal’s home, giving a new meaning to the term ‘stuffing your face’. The German verb ‘hamstern’ means to hoard.
While most people are aware of the superior olfactory abilities of dogs, it may come as a surprise to know that ‘pouchies’ have an even better sense of smell. As a result, they have been used to find unexploded ordnance in several African countries since Bart Weetjens, director of APOPO – Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling (AntiPersonnel Landmines Removal Product Development), a Belgian research company – had the idea to use them in the 1990s, christening the rodents ‘HeroRATs’.
APOPO took the concept of sniffer dogs, miniaturised it and now trains and deploys the HeroRATs throughout the African continent. Today, HeroRATs are used not only to find unexploded landmines but to detect tuberculosis (TB) in humans and even to find smuggled wildlife, such as the pangolin. And in these strange times, pouched rats are being considered for an additional task: detecting COVID-19.
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Bu hikaye The Field dergisinin February 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The Field dergisinin February 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Rory Stewart - The former Cabinet minister and hit podcast host talks to Alec Marsh about the parlous state of British politics, land management and his deep love of the countryside
The gently spoken 51-year-old former Conservative Cabinet minister is a countryman at heart. That's clear: he even changes into a tweed waistcoat for the interview, which takes place at his London home and begins with a question about his precise career status. Having resigned from the Commons and the Conservative Party in 2019, the former diplomat and soldier has reinvented himself, first with an unconventional but promising run as an independent for the London mayoralty (abandoned because of COVID19 in 2020) and then as a media figure, co-hosting one of the country's most popular podcasts, The Rest Is Politics, alongside Alastair Campbell, the former Labour spin doctor.
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