Rat Ambassadors Try to Win over the American Public
2023-04-24
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1Three zoos in the United States, including the San Diego Zoo, now have "hero rat" ambassadors, showing the abilities of the African giant pouched rats.
2A Tanzania-based organization that trains the rats provided them to the zoos.
3The rats use their sense of smell to perform useful tasks like detecting diseases and landmines, helping fight wildlife trafficking and more.
4Runa is the giant pouched rat at the San Diego Zoo.
5She was trained to find landmines.
6The rats can detect landmines and explosive materials in former war areas in countries like Angola, Mozambique and Cambodia.
7But Runa was a little distracted doing that job.
8Cari Inserra, a wildlife care specialist at the San Diego Zoo, said Runa is now doing well as a rat ambassador.
9Recently Runa used her sense of smell to find small amounts of tea that her trainers had hidden under dirt in a box. Once she found the tea, she was given a reward of a pellet and banana drink.
10"One of the most fun things to see is how she changes the perceptions of people," Inserra said.
11Nicki Boyd works for the San Diego Zoo and Wildlife Alliance.
12She said the zoo wants to show that rats are an important tool for fighting wildlife trafficking.
13She said that the illegal animal trade, "is very destructive to the species that we are actively trying to save and protect in the wild."
14In March, six African rats finished training to find trafficked goods in a port in Tanzania.
15The wildlife is hidden in large shipping containers that leave the port of Dar es Salaam.
16Some of the goods include pangolins, a scaly anteater that is one of the most trafficked animals in the world.
17Its meat is eaten as a delicacy in parts of Asia, and its scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine.
18But rats still have a long way to go to improve their public image.
19Eric Adams is the mayor of New York City.
20Recently, he appointed Kathleen Corradi to help with the city's rat problem.
21During a news conference, Corradi talked about her hatred of rats and promised to use "science" to remove them.
22Rats can spread diseases like leptospirosis, which can lead to kidney and liver failure.
23A New York City spokesperson called the city's rats "dirty and diseased."
24He said that they are a public health risk, and that the city will remove the rats in a humane way, when possible, but that the city will put the needs of the people first.
25Izzy Szott is a research scientist for the Belgian non-profit group APOPO.
26The group trains rats to work for governments around the world.
27She hopes that having the ambassador rats at famous zoos will help people understand and support rat research.
28Szott said that rats are "actually are quite clean animals."
29She added they clean themselves and lick their trainers' arms with affection.
30APOPO said that African giant pouched rats have found more than 150,000 landmines.
31The rats have also helped identify tuberculosis bacteria from 25,000 patients at African hospitals.
32In Tanzania, Szott said researchers are training rats to identify pollution and to find people buried in destroyed buildings after disasters.
33Szott added that she thinks giant pouched rats will be used at ports and airports in the future and may replace dogs to smell for explosives and drugs.
34The common brown rat found in New York City has similar abilities, but they live only a few years.
35So, it is unlikely that they could be trained. African rats can live up to 10 years.
36Speaking of the African pouched rat, Szott said the rat ambassadors will show, "just how smart they are and how we can co-exist with them."
37I'm Faith Pirlo.
1Three zoos in the United States, including the San Diego Zoo, now have "hero rat" ambassadors, showing the abilities of the African giant pouched rats. 2A Tanzania-based organization that trains the rats provided them to the zoos. The rats use their sense of smell to perform useful tasks like detecting diseases and landmines, helping fight wildlife trafficking and more. 3Runa is the giant pouched rat at the San Diego Zoo. She was trained to find landmines. The rats can detect landmines and explosive materials in former war areas in countries like Angola, Mozambique and Cambodia. 4But Runa was a little distracted doing that job. Cari Inserra, a wildlife care specialist at the San Diego Zoo, said Runa is now doing well as a rat ambassador. 5Recently Runa used her sense of smell to find small amounts of tea that her trainers had hidden under dirt in a box. Once she found the tea, she was given a reward of a pellet and banana drink. 6"One of the most fun things to see is how she changes the perceptions of people," Inserra said. 7Nicki Boyd works for the San Diego Zoo and Wildlife Alliance. She said the zoo wants to show that rats are an important tool for fighting wildlife trafficking. She said that the illegal animal trade, "is very destructive to the species that we are actively trying to save and protect in the wild." 8In March, six African rats finished training to find trafficked goods in a port in Tanzania. The wildlife is hidden in large shipping containers that leave the port of Dar es Salaam. 9Some of the goods include pangolins, a scaly anteater that is one of the most trafficked animals in the world. Its meat is eaten as a delicacy in parts of Asia, and its scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine. 10But rats still have a long way to go to improve their public image. Eric Adams is the mayor of New York City. Recently, he appointed Kathleen Corradi to help with the city's rat problem. 11During a news conference, Corradi talked about her hatred of rats and promised to use "science" to remove them. Rats can spread diseases like leptospirosis, which can lead to kidney and liver failure. 12A New York City spokesperson called the city's rats "dirty and diseased." He said that they are a public health risk, and that the city will remove the rats in a humane way, when possible, but that the city will put the needs of the people first. 13Izzy Szott is a research scientist for the Belgian non-profit group APOPO. The group trains rats to work for governments around the world. She hopes that having the ambassador rats at famous zoos will help people understand and support rat research. 14Szott said that rats are "actually are quite clean animals." She added they clean themselves and lick their trainers' arms with affection. 15APOPO said that African giant pouched rats have found more than 150,000 landmines. The rats have also helped identify tuberculosis bacteria from 25,000 patients at African hospitals. 16In Tanzania, Szott said researchers are training rats to identify pollution and to find people buried in destroyed buildings after disasters. 17Szott added that she thinks giant pouched rats will be used at ports and airports in the future and may replace dogs to smell for explosives and drugs. 18The common brown rat found in New York City has similar abilities, but they live only a few years. So, it is unlikely that they could be trained. African rats can live up to 10 years. 19Speaking of the African pouched rat, Szott said the rat ambassadors will show, "just how smart they are and how we can co-exist with them." 20I'm Faith Pirlo. 21Julie Watson wrote this story for The Associated Press. Faith Pirlo adapted this story for Learning English. 22_______________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24detect - v. to discover something that was not known or hidden by searching for it 25trafficked - adj. the illegal business of taking people from one place to another to be used as workers 26distracted - adj. having one's thoughts or attention drawn away: unable to concentrate or give attention to something 27pellet - n. a small, hard ball of metal, grain or other material 28perception - v. the way a person thinks about or understands something 29scaly - adj. covered with scales or flakes 30delicacy - n. a special food, usually something rare or costly 31humane - adj. kind or gentle to others 32groom - v. to clean and care for an animal 33affection - n. a feeling of liking and caring for someone or something 34contaminated - adj. to make (something) dangerous, dirty, or impure by adding something harmful or undesirable to it 35rubble - n. broken pieces of stone, or brick from walls or buildings that have fallen 36species - n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young 37_______________________________________________________________ 38What do you think about this story? 39We want to hear from you. 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