In Tanzania, rats are trained to detect landmines. The rodents’ acute sense of smell and lightweight frame allow them to sniff out chemicals and detect landmines without triggering an explosion.

The rats, also known as “HeroRATs,” can also detect tuberculosis more quickly than laboratory tests. The non-profit organisation APOPO currently has over 104 rodent recruits.

They’ll reach out to me and introduce another HeroRAT that I can adopt. I definitely will.

Update end.

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I didn’t include all the information in the popular post cause said post was intended to have 5 notes max. Whoops. So here we go:

Ronin is six years old? How??

Ronin isn’t a domestic rat, but an African giant pouched rat! They have a longer lifespan of about eight years. The oldest ever HeroRAT lived to 11.

How long will Ronin still have to work?

That depends on him. HeroRATs have regular health and performance checks. Once the performance drops, they retire.

What happens with retired rats?

They get to live just as comfortably as the working rats, get regular health checks and enrichment until they pass away.

Isn’t it dangerous for Ronin to walk around in landmines?

No, the rats are too light to set off landmines. No HeroRAT has ever died on the job.

How did Ronin learn his job?

Apopo sent me this info sheet when I adopted Ronin:

How can I adopt a HeroRAT?

You go here and pick your rat. They not only have landmine detection rats, but also rats who detect tuberculosis and wildlife trafficking. And there are HeroDOGs too.

How much does it cost?

I’m European so the website shows me €. Adoption rates stay at 12€ (about $13) a month. You can choose to pay more and you can also pick annual instead of monthly rates. Or you could ask for a one-year adoption gift, or gift it to someone else. Of course you can also just do one single donation to Apopo. Or you give a HeroGift to the animals, like a basket of bananas, a dog bone, a health check or a love nest for two.

What do I get out of adopting?

Bragging rights about your amazing child, a certificate, an information package with more info about your rat and its work and also a monthly newsletter about what your child has been up to, like the one in my post.

Where did you get all this info?

From the organization Apopo. Feel free to look around for more info on their work and the adorable animals. They have a FAQ too.

Is there more Ronin lore to learn?

Yep:

Apopo has introduced three new HeroRATS available for 'adoption.'

Baraka and Ronin are both mine detection rats, while Tamasha is a TB detection rat. Baraka and Tamasha are both based in Tanzania and Ronin works in Cambodia.

These African Giant Pouched Rats can scent and detect landmines safely in an area the size of a tennis court in 30 minutes. It would take a human using a metal detector 4 days to cover the same area. The rats are small enough that they don't trigger the mines, keeping both the animals and their handlers safe. The TB detection rats can do the work of a human technician running microscopic examination of sputum samples over 4 days in 20 minutes.

Some people might remember Magawa, the HeroRAT who was presented with the PDSA Gold Medal, which is considered the highest honour of gallantry and bravery an animal can be presented with for acts of service.

You can 'adopt' one of the rats with a monthly donation towards their care and upkeep, or buy a gift ranging from a basket of bananas, a nesting box for breeding pairs, and covering the cost of a health check up. Look at how cute their 'Romantic Dinner For Two' for breeding pairs is:

My hero rat Baraka just started his career in Angola. This month he helped clear 950 square meters of land and found 1 piece of ammunition.

Here are the two organizations I'm currently supporting with some of my art! A portion of each sale will be donated to:

APOPO HeroRATs trains African giant pouched rats to sniff out land mines and tuberculosis!

The Pika Project monitors pika populations in the Colorado mountains. You can volunteer to help out, and the data gained goes towards helping conservation and preventing climate change.