Frequently Asked Questions

What does ‘APOPO’ mean?

APOPO is an acronym from the Dutch which stands for Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende
ProductOntwikkeling, or in English: Anti-Personnel Landmines Detection Product Development.

What is APOPO and what do they do?

APOPO is a registered Belgian Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), with its headquarters in

Tanzania. We currently employ about 200 local staff in Tanzania and Mozambique, and we have over
300 rats in various stages of breeding, detection training, research, or operations.

APOPO trains rats to save lives. Our mission is to develop detection rats technology to provide solutions
for global problems and inspire positive social change. We currently train rats for landmine detection,
tuberculosis screening, and Remote Scent Tracing research.

When was APOPO created?

The Belgian Directorate for International Co-operation (DGIS) provided the initial financial support to
develop the concept in November 1997. APOPO vzw was registered under the Belgian law as a non-
commercial agency, and started its first research in early 1998. Later, APOPO became a registered
Belgian NGO.

Where does APOPO work?

At present, APOPO has Mine Action Programmes in Mozambique and Thailand, and a headquarters and
training base in Tanzania, which includes research facilities and the tuberculosis detection center.

What kind of rat is trained to sniff out mines and disease?

Rodents are the biggest order of mammals, with more than 2,000 species. Among these, APOPO
selected the African giant pouched rat or Cricetomys gambianus for mine detection. Though most rats
could qualify in terms of sensitivity and intelligence, the Cricetomys has inherent advantages for the mine-
detection task.

Doc#: US1:5799152v8
 2 Frequently Asked Questions

African giant pouched rats are:

• a widespread indigenous species, adapted to the local environment.
• able to live up to eight years in captivity, optimizing the return on training investment.
• relatively large, making them easier to work with and observe.
• calm, docile, and easy to tame.

Being a wild species, it was assumed that their olfactory capacity would be very well developed.
African giant pouched rats weigh between 0.7 and 1.5 kg, and their average body length is 30-40 cm,
excluding the tail of 40 cm. They live in burrows underground, where they usually have different
chambers. They collect food and other items in their pouches, store them underground, and always trace
their path by sense of smell – behavior similar to the demining task. Being nocturnal, they are relatively
calm and manageable during the day, though they are prone to heat strokes if exposed to excessive
sunlight.

Are rats likely to get killed in the detection process?

HeroRATs are trained to detect and pinpoint the location of a landmine. Their size and weight make it
highly unlikely they would set of a pressure-activated mine by scratching or pointing. It is a
misunderstanding that the rats are trained as Kamikaze to destroy the mines in the field. Trained animals
are far too precious to lose to landmines. On the contrary, the rats used by APOPO are treated with great
care and attention in order to optimize their physical and mental condition.

Can rats smell better then dogs?

Dogs are traditionally renowned for their tracking and sniffing capacities. Can rats match their
performance? In the wild, rats can communicate over large distances using olfactory cues – and the rat’s
nose is constantly active and moving. With its rather poor vision, the Cricetomys depends largely on its
sense of smell. Rats have a clear advantage over dogs – the rat’s nose is always close to the ground,
even when its head is raised. (The highest vapor concentration and the lowest wind speed are found
close to the ground.) Although trained with TNT, it is not clear which of the nitro-aromatic compounds, or
even mine-casing materials or other cues, are most detectable by the animals. Therefore, it is always
necessary to re-calibrate the animals on the specific targets found in the demining operations.

How are the rats trained?

APOPO trains the rats through operant conditioning, using a combination of click training and food
rewarding. Training starts at the age of 4-5 weeks, when juveniles are weaned from the mother. At first,
the animals are nursed for 1-2 weeks by the caretakers so they can get used to humans. Then they are
taught to associate a clicking sound with a food reward. After that, they have to perform certain tasks to
get this reward. After odor imprint, the complexity of their tasks gradually increases.

Perhaps the main difference between dog training and rat training is that rats are not taught obedience.
Therefore, the total training period can be relatively short. In APOPO’s experience, the field rats can be
trained within eight to 12 months, and Remote Scent Tracing rats between six to 10 months.

Intellectually, the rats are 'smart' enough to learn required tasks relatively quickly, while being
‘uncomplicated’ enough for learning to be standardized. Food provides a strong and controllable source
of motivation and an effective drive for performance.

How long can a rat work?

Normally, the rats are trained about half an hour per day, five days per week. During this period, they are
on a food-for-work diet. During the weekend, they feast on an extensive varied meal. In the Remote Scent
Tracing analysis, rats can evaluate between 100 and 150 filters in about 15 minutes. In the field, the free-
running rats scan a 100m2 box in less than 30 minutes. They can do two-four boxes in one session.
 3 Frequently Asked Questions

What is the life-span of these rats?

HeroRATs can live up to 6 or 8 years. Conservatively, we estimate they can work in the field for up to 4-5
years.

Are they resistant to tropical diseases?

Veterinary care requirements are relatively small for African giant pouched rats. Since they are endemic
to sub-Saharan Africa, they are used to the tropical climate and are resilient to many tropical diseases.
Routine care includes daily observations of individual animals, weekly health reports, and regular
prevention treatments for endo- and ectoparasites.

What do rats eat?

During the week, trained rats live on a reward diet that consists mainly of bananas and peanuts. On the
weekend, they eat a balanced diet of grains, maize, nuts, vegetables, fruits, fish, and sometimes insects.
This is also the permanent diet for the breeding rats. Rats generally eat a great variety of food, and food
supply is rarely a problem.

Where do you get your rats?

APOPO has a breeding program which supplies rats ‘as needed’ for the training, research and detection
programs currently underway. Successfully trained rats that are taking a ‘work holiday’ also participate in
our breeding program. The breeding enclosures are designed to simulate the native habitat of the rats, in
order to maximize the output of the program. The breeding couples generally have 2-3 litters each per
year, with an average of 2-3 pups per litter. In order to scale up productivity, additional wild rats are
sometimes introduced into the breeding program.

How are the rats bred and kept?

Our breeding facilities are set up to simulate the environment the rats would experience in the wild. One
male is paired with two female rats and they live in spacious breeding cages, complete with dirt to make
tunnels and create living chambers in. The facility is about 5 x 10 meters and about 6 feet deep (concrete
lined) and food is regularly placed in the facility so they have all they need to survive and are not
distracted with foraging.

Those rats who do not have the luxury of being in the breeding program share kennels with their siblings.
The kennels are cleaned regularly and the rats have their own caretaking staff who make sure they are
fed, loved, have access to drinking water, and clean living quarters.

Captive-born rats enjoy attention, including being petted and taken out for playtime. APOPO has several
outside pens where the rats can play and get used to an outside environment. Other rats walk around
freely in the kennel during clean up of their cages – they don’t attempt to escape, they just wander around
and explore new environments.

The rats also have regular visits from a veterinarian, who checks on the health of all the animals.

Do many of the rats die, and what are the main causes of death?

The majority of our rats live to the end of their expected life-span. None of our rats have ever died as a
result of their detection work. Rats in general can be somewhat susceptible to cancers, and this is no
different for those kept in captivity. However, for the most part our rats live long, healthy lives.
 4 Frequently Asked Questions

Are there any cultural problems with handling rats?

In APOPO’s experience, all trainers who have been employed to train the animals (mostly Tanzanians)
have picked up the job quickly. There have been no cases of fear among the trainers or cases of
mistreating or rough handling of the rats, behavior that could initiate fear in them. In general, we observe
quite gentle handling and respectful interaction with the animals. Based on this positive experience,
APOPO expects that users in the demining community will quickly get accustomed to this new approach.
Future experience at different locations might reveal cultural differences related to the acceptance of
mine-detection rats. There have been some areas where demining dogs were not appreciated on
religious grounds. Thus far, the initial reactions of the beneficiary communities and demining
organizations have been very positive.

Can different people handle one rat?

An important advantage of the rats is their relative independence from a personal handler. Generally,
most rats remain with the same trainer, but show no significant difference in performance when taken
over by somebody else in the absence of the trainer. Preferably a new handler should be briefed on the
specific behavior of individual animals. This has a logistic advantage in that a handler does not
necessarily have to follow his own animals to the demining operations.

What is the cost of training one of these rats?

Rats have a definite cost advantage in terms of maintenance and care, duration of training, as well as
kennel and transport requirements, whereas their time span of operational efficiency is similar that of
mine-detection dogs. An exact cost calculation of the rodent mine detection technology will only be
possible after relevant operational field experience over a period of time. However, at present we
estimate that 5 euro per month covers basic food, nutrition, and healthcare for one rat. If you factor in all
the variables that go into training, evaluation, and care, it costs an average of 6,000 euro to fully train one
mine-detection rat. This cost is roughly, one-third to one-quarter the cost of a fully trained mine-detection
dog. A cost comparison between training dogs and rats can be made with a detailed cost analysis of
mine-detection dogs.

Will rats oust dogs as mine-detection animals?

In fact, mine-detection rats and mine-detection dogs are complementary tools within the mine-action
technology toolbox. One allows for quality assurance of the other, whereas both techniques can be
deployed as primary detectors.

For the use of rats in the open field, we noticed that rats are good at scanning high-density minefields.
They seem to be able to pinpoint mine positions easier than dogs under such conditions. Dogs, however,
can cover bigger distances, and are better in a fast survey. The specific advantages of the use of rats in
the REST system are obvious; their small size allows a REST set-up to be small and easily managed.
This is reflected in a faster working speed and changeover of samples. Rats also tend to work in a more
‘mechanical’ way than dogs.

Dogs have the distinct advantage of being used in mine detection for decades. Consequently there are a
lot of training companies and many experienced dog trainers. It might take considerable time and effort
for mine-detection rats to reach the same level of acclaim.

How do you find work for the rats? Are you hired by governments to demine?

APOPO runs an operational Mine Action Programme in Mozambique, with an integrated system that
incorporates survey work, ground preparation, detection of landmines, manual clearance, and land
release. When APOPO is assigned full demining tasks, we handle all facets of demining that area from
start to finish, working closely with the national demining authorities and adhering to International Mine
Action Standards. We also provide mine-detection services to partner NGOs and external demining
 5 Frequently Asked Questions

operators. APOPO relies on funding to support its mine action efforts. The Mozambique Mine Action
Programme is funded by United Nations Development Programme and the Belgian, Flemish and
Norwegian Governments.

Once the Mine Detection Rats indicate the location of a landmine, how do you remove or destroy
the mine?

The locations that are indicated by the rats are then followed up by our manual demining team, who
detect and destroy the mines. A deminer first locates the mine and exposes it to a level where it can be
clearly identified. The exact location is clearly marked with warning signs, and at the end of the day, the
supervisor will come back to it and lay a demolition charge next to it. Then they stand off to a safe
distance and detonate the explosive, which destroys the mine.

What does a typical day at APOPO in Tanzania look like?

Our rats work Monday through Friday and play on weekends. During the week, landmine-detection
training occurs in the mornings between 7 am and 9 am. Afterward the trainers return to the office for a
tea break. From 9:30 am to noon, trainers work with the REST rats and TB-detection rats in their
respective centers. They also work with the young rats that are just beginning their socialization and
early-stage training. Lunch takes place from noon to 1 pm and trainers wrap up their training – and
prepare for the next day’s work – from 1 pm to 2:30 pm.

How long have you been doing research on these rats?

Since APOPO’s initial establishment in 1998.

Are there any future projects these rats will be involved with?

APOPO has plans to expand demining operations into other mine-affected countries in future, which is
dependent on available funding. APOPO is currently working on building partnerships in these locations,
and seeking the funding necessary to set up programs in country.

Meanwhile, APOPO is also conducting research into a number of potential Remote Scent Tracing
applications for detection rats.

How can we get involved or support APOPO’s work?

We welcome donations of any amount, to support the continuation of APOPO’s work. We also run an
Adopt-a-Rat program where supporters can contribute a monthly or annual amount to go towards the
training of a featured HeroRAT. Full corporate sponsorship is also an option, for those who wish to fund
the full training course of their very own HeroRAT. Please visit our websites for more information on how
to support APOPO and the HeroRATs: www.apopo.org or www.herorat.org.

To keep up-to-date with all our progress, supporters can subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter at our
website, or connect with us on Facebook (facebook.com/heroRAT) or Twitter (twitter.com/herorats) for
regular updates.

If you have any additional questions, please email us at: herorats@herorat.org.