Mott Sreymom, 34, a rat handler with Apopo carries an African giant pouched rat back from a landmine field. — Photos: ANTON L. DELGADO/AP
Rats may send some squealing, but in Cambodia, teams of the not-so-little critters have become indispensable in helping specialists detect land mines that have killed and maimed thousands in the South-East Asian country.
The African giant pouched rats, which can grow up to 45 centimetres and weigh up to 1.5 kilograms, are on the front line, making their way nimbly across fields to signal to their handlers when they get a whiff of TNT, used in most land mines and explosive ordnance.
