Bomb-sniffing elephants? Not so nutty, US Army says
Source: Associated Press
Bomb-sniffing elephants? Not so nutty, US Army says
By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA, Associated Press | March 11, 2015 | Updated: March 11, 2015 1:47pm
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Armed with a sharp sense of smell, dogs have a long history of detecting explosives for their human handlers. Trained rats sniff out land mines from old African wars. In Croatia, researchers have tried to train bees to identify TNT.
Now elephants. New research conducted in South Africa and involving the U.S. military shows they excel at identifying explosives by smell, stirring speculation about whether their extraordinary ability can save lives.
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Another plus: elephants remember their training longer than dogs, said Stephen Lee, head scientist at the U.S. Army Research Office, a major funder of the research.
The research comes as elephant populations across Africa are threatened. Poachers across the continent have annually killed tens of thousands of elephants for their tusks in recent years because of a surge in demand for ivory in Asia, primarily China.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/world/article/Bomb-sniffing-elephants-Not-so-nutty-US-Army-6127639.php
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Fa loves Pa!
Who is the mental midget that thinks bomb sniffing elephants is a great idea. What idiots
I can't imagine the pain the elephants are in. I would like to see elephants start crushing their torturers and handlers, then maybe we'll leave them in peace. People suck!
... into a blackhawk helecopter.
Lifting it under a Chinook would probably result in one unhappy elephant.
A rat can be carried in a jacket pocket.