Rats to the rescue! Backpack-wearing rodents could help earthquake survivors
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These rats are being trained to find people who need help, and will be given kit to help them do it
Natural disasters like earthquakes, floods and hurricanes can be incredibly destructive, but a group of scientists have come up with an ingenious idea to help people who are affected by them.
A non-profit organisation in Belgium called APOPO is training rats to look for survivors in disaster zones.
They are working with a university to develop tiny backpacks that can help them communicate with rescue teams.
The tech-kitted rodents will then be able to search areas that might be difficult to reach for humans at first.
The rats are trained in rooms that are set up to look like they've been affected by a natural disaster
Donna Kean, a scientist and leader of the project, said that along with being small enough to squeeze into small spaces, "rats are typically quite curious and like to explore - and that is key for search and rescue".
Rats also have a keen sense of smell, helping them to sniff out survivors.
The rats are in early stages of training, and are doing so in a pretend disaster zone.
Being able to fit into small spaces is a big help to the rats on a job like this
First, they have to find a person in danger in an empty room.
Then, they trigger a beeper by pulling a switch on their kit. After that, they need to return to where they started and, if successful, they're given a treat as a reward.
APOPO are also teaming up with the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, who are helping to develop tiny backpacks that will fit onto the rats.
Rats have excellent memories. They can recognise other rats and humans they've seen before and once they learn how to get somewhere, they're unlikely to forget the route.
Some rats are excellent climbers, thanks to their tails which they use for balance. Some species can also jump really far.
African giant pouched rats are used to help sniff out landmines. Their excellent sense of smell helps them to detect mines buried underground. They're so light that they won't set them off, meaning they can safely alert humans as to where they are.
Info from vet charity PDSA
They'll be complete with video calling software so the rats can show rescuers what's going on, and survivors can communicate with them.
They'll also be able to tell rescue teams where they are, so that they can get to the survivors the rats have found.
This isn't the first time APOPO have trained animals to be heroes - they've also worked with dogs to sniff out landmines at their base in Tanzania.
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