BALTIMORE — They may look like your regular humble Baltimore rat, but these critters are no ordinary rodent.
They're called HeroRATs - specially-trained rats that can detect land mines and tuberculosis around the world.
Now, the Maryland Zoo will be getting two of the HeroRATs to be its latest "animal ambassadors."
The rats are African giant pouched rats, and work for the Belgian nonprofit APOPO (Anti-Personnel Landmines Detection Product Development), mostly in African and Asian countries.
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Landmines pose a major long-term threat to many countries that saw active conflict. Tuberculosis is an infections disease that affects about 25 percent of people worldwide.
The zoo posted on Facebook about the rats:
Keep an eye out for them on Zoo grounds, where they’ll be demonstrating their incredible detection skills!
