In a Colombian police laboratory, the most
unique anti-explosive command in the world trains.
Today, Elvira, Cami, Alfonso and Sisy put their acute sense of smell to the test.
They run through this labyrinth in search of a powerful plastic explosive.
Despite their young age, they easily recognize the smell
of the main explosives used in the world.
Dr. Luisa Fernanda Gomez is the scientist in charge of this project.
She and a special team with expertise in deactivating explosives have proven in their laboratories
that the rats have extraordinary skills to detect anti-personnel
mines, and can do so even faster than the dogs trained to do this job.
The idea came about when we started to have casualties in the dogs that were detecting mines
in the open fields, because the groups that were not abiding by the law were
putting the charge at a distance from the detonation system.
So the dogs themselves were activating the charges.
So we needed a system that was pretty similar to the dog's, but that weighed less and
allowed us to determine where there was a charge and where the detonation system was.
Well, that biological element is the rat.
The results of the experiment are amazing.
The rats are capable of detecting explosives that are buried up to 30 centimeters beneath the ground.
In just a few minutes, they can comb an area of 25 square meters.
They do not get distracted, and they learn easily, accept orders and never lose sight of their objective.
They can work for more than three years and it is
almost impossible for them to activate a mine
because they don't weigh more than 300 grams.
It barely takes 45 days to train them.
We train the mother, and she passes some of the behavioral traits to her offspring.
The babies start training before they are born, with intrauterine stimulation.
After they are born, they are left in their mother's care the first two or three days,
and starting on the fourth day, we start to work with them and put them
in different environments and with different species -- cats, dogs, cows, horses --
so they can learn to tolerate all of the agents they will find in an actual environment.
The rats start their rigorous training in this laboratory.
As they progress in recognizing the different types
of explosives, they are given small sugar pills as a reward.
The animal starts in the labyrinth's circle, and it is given options to open doors.
It enters through this passage, reaches the censor and, after passing
through the censor, all doors are closed and it is immediately given its reward.
In this way, the rat begins to familiarize itself with the explosive.
Then, they are taken to a training field, where they are given the mission
to detect explosives buried in different places and at different depths.
It is precisely in these conditions that the skills
acquired in the laboratories are tested.
They stay on top of the explosive and the charge for a prolonged amount of time,
until we approach to reward them. That prolonged time is between 30 seconds and two
or three minutes, and that is enough time for the technician who is
with them to realize that the charge is there and reward them.
And although it sounds weird, cats -- the natural enemies of rats --
are, in this project, responsible for providing the rats security.
The felines, since they were born, have been trained to protect and guarantee the rodents' life.
The only species in open fields that we had not been able to control, and which is often found
in rural zones, was the cat. We needed the rat to completely lose its fear of that species,
so we had to introduce baby cats and teach those cats to live in together with the rats.
Colombia, Cambodia and Afghanistan are the three countries in the world where
anti-personnel mines have resulted in a great number of victims during the last 20 years.
According to UNICEF, it is estimated that there are 100,000 anti-personnel mines
in Colombia, planted in areas equivalent to 15 percent of the national territory.
That means an approximate surface of 130,395 square kilometers,
which is equivalent to all of the territory in England.
I lost 60 percent hearing in my left ear. I had seven operations in my left eye.
I have a plate in my right foot, where I still have an injury.
And one is affected psychologically.
The rats have become a real hope for the anti-explosive teams that
daily risk their lives to deactivate these dangerous, deadly traps that result in
more than 5,800 deaths each year, the majority of them children.
For children, these silent assassins have become part of their
daily life, to the point where everyone knows what to do when they find them.
Don't touch it, or throw it stones or anything. And, if you can,
go back the same way you came. Or if not, cry for help.
The results of the investigation surprised those who attended international summits
in Spain and Mexico on humanitarian mine clearance.
The creators of this initiative assure that the idea is to share the results with
authorities of other countries that face the same problem.
It's a project that has an international vision. The idea is not only that Colombia
benefits, but also that we can multiply the project and
provide information to the rest of the world so that we can be free of
the scourge of anti-personnel mines.
The first anti-explosive command of rodents is already prepared
to leave the laboratory drills.
Now, those most anxious to watch the rodents in action are precisely the
children who daily face this humanitarian tragedy.