These rats are heroes: Sacramento Zoo’s new rodents can literally sniff out crime

What’s roughly the size of a small cat, has an incredibly powerful nose and works with international authorities to stop criminal trafficking rings? A new member of the Sacramento Zoo family.

Read more These rats are heroes: Sacramento Zoo’s new rodents can literally sniff out crime

The Sacramento Zoo is publicly welcoming its newest residents this week: Three African giant pouched rats, known as “HeroRATs” for their unique smelling abilities capable of tackling dangerous work.

Belgian nonprofit APOPO has trained the rats to quickly and accurately sniff out explosive ordnance, tuberculosis infections and trafficked wildlife products across Africa and Asia, according to a news release by the Sacramento Zoo.

In partnership with APOPO, the zoo developed an interactive habitat focused on educating zoo visitors about the global illegal wildlife trade and what steps are being taken to curb it. According to APOPO’s website, the animals are trained to detect traces of trafficked products like pangolin scales, elephant ivory, rhinoceros horn, giraffe hide and hair, and African blackwood.

“We’re so excited to bring these heroes and their critically important conservation message to zoo guests,” Sacramento Zoo animal care supervisor Jonelle Mason said in the news release.

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To celebrate the new creatures, the Sacramento Zoo is hosting a debut party for the African giant pouched rats on Thursday morning. Starting at 9:30 a.m., zoo visitors will hear from Sacramento Zoo leadership and zookeepers as they showcase the new animals and their abilities at the zoo’s in-house amphitheater.

Once the rats are settled into their new homes, the zoo will eventually begin showing the rats at the amphitheater, demonstrating their ability to find scents through maze walls.

The giant pouched rats are solitary creatures, so only one rat will be viewable at a time, rotating between a public-facing habitat and “behind-the-scenes” spaces, according to the zoo’s news release.

Admission to the Thursday morning party is included with general zoo tickets, and the first 500 guests at the habitat will receive a special, limited-edition sticker honoring the HeroRATs.

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