Jess Thomson is a Newsweek Science Reporter based in London UK. Her focus is reporting on science, technology and healthcare. She has covered weird animal behavior, space news and the impacts of ...

While enormous rats might be many people's nightmare, these huge rodents could be a key weapon in the battle against the trading of illegal wildlife goods. African giant pouched rats can be ...

More information: Ratting on wildlife crime: Training African giant pouched rats to detect illegally trafficked wildlife, Frontiers in Conservation Science (2024). DOI: 10.3389/fcosc.2024.1444126 ...

While the jury is still out on whether or not the African giant pouched rat is cute, it’s harder to deny the impressive power of its nose. Tanzania-based non-profit APOPO has already ...

Giant African rats may soon be the key to fighting illegal wildlife trafficking. New research from nonprofit APOPO, published Oct. 29, shows that African giant pouched rats can be trained to ...

Scientists are training the first generation of rats in Tanzania to detect illegal wildlife trafficked products. Their research shows that African giant pouched rats can locate concealed wildlife ...

African giant pouched rats are not your typical ... master problem solvers when it comes to the puzzle of getting food.” Rats go through a year of clicker training, a form of positive ...

“Our study shows that we can train African giant pouched rats to detect illegally trafficked wildlife, even when it has been concealed among other substances,” said Isabelle Szott, a ...