Abstract
Giant African pouched rats recently have been used as mine-detection animals in Mozambique. To provide an example of the wide range of problems to which operant conditioning procedures can be applied and to illustrate the common challenges often faced in applying those procedures, this manuscript briefly describes how the rats are trained and used operationally. To date, the rats have performed well and it appears they can play a valuable role in humanitarian demining.
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Support for APOPO’s mine detection work has been provided by Antwerp University (Belgium), Sokoine University of Agriculture (Tanzania), the United Nations Development Programme, and the Flemish and Belgian governments. The authors gratefully acknowledge and richly applaud the excellent work done by other APOPO personnel in Tanzania, Mozambique, and elsewhere. Without them, nothing would be accomplished.
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Poling, A., Weetjens, B.J., Cox, C. et al. Teaching Giant African Pouched Rats to Find Landmines: Operant Conditioning With Real Consequences. Behav Analysis Practice 3, 19–25 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03391761
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03391761