APOPO Science

We are the Research & Innovation Department of @HeroRATs. Stay tuned for the latest developments in ways we train our rats to save lives & the environment.

[APOPO Science @ApopoScience]

@alanatedmon We love these! 🤩🥰

[APOPO Science @ApopoScience]

Read our newly published #solution on the @Panorama_Planet website and get insight into the day of a wildlife detection rat. #SmugRAT #IWT #WorthMoreAlive #CWT #SnifferRat https://t.co/SothuTPJxV

[APOPO Science @ApopoScience]

We develop general training #protocols but we also tweak things for individual rats and their #personality. After a false alarm (FA) #FeiToto must wait 10secs before we give him the next sample. This seems like #ALifetimeOfWaiting for him. Will it reduce FAs? #ScienceInTheMaking

[APOPO Science @ApopoScience]

We are still on the hunt for a new Head of Research & Innovation. #Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and the posting is open until filled. #Job #ScienceCareers #ResearchCareers #AppliedScience #Career #ScentDetectionJob #AcademicCareer https://t.co/eCkbl23Pvk

[APOPO Science @ApopoScience]

APOPO is hiring a new Head of Research & Innovation. We are looking for a team player with great leadership & management skills, understanding of research & animal training, as well as strong ethics and high animal welfare standards: https://t.co/N7lHVULlBA #PleaseShare

[APOPO Science @ApopoScience]

See our last post? @RescueRATs are progressing in their ability to ignore distracting food items. Watch Caruso easily walk past these tasty tomatoes and peanuts!

#Progress #BehavioralScience

[APOPO Science @ApopoScience]

#RescueRATs are learning to ignore distracting stimuli they may encounter in collapsed buildings, like these tasty peanuts.

As expected, peanut interaction was high (and very adorable) on day one of training. Stay tuned to watch their progress!
#BehavioralTraining #SlowAndSteady

[APOPO Science @ApopoScience]

See our last post? The vest is the basis of our custom made #backpack This will allow us to see live video when rats search out of sight (in debris or inside containers). Rats can trigger their ball to indicate a target which delivers a remote signal to the handler #RATPack

[APOPO Science @ApopoScience]

Wildlife detection and Search & Rescue rats wear customised vests, made from neoprene with a ball attached. Rats pull this ball when they detect their target. Here is one of our earlier models (~2020) of these vests, with elastic & a wooden bead #RescueRAT #SmugRAT #Innovate #Aww

[APOPO Science @ApopoScience]

Monitoring our rats progress also means monitoring body weight. They are weighed daily before training & we then supplement in their home cage later if they did not earn their full daily ration during training #Monitoring #PrettyGraphs #DailyRoutine #BehindTheScenes

[APOPO Science @ApopoScience]

#CustomDelivery from @KilimoHai. We are preparing samples for our newest project: a proof-of-principle using #MultipleExemplarTraining to teach our rats how to #MatchToSample Brought to you by visiting students Maddy & @waele_hannah #ConceptLearning #BehaviorAnalysis #StayTuned

[APOPO Science @ApopoScience]

We don't just carry out research into new ways our #HeroRATs can put their noses to work, but also conduct #studies on further improving existing programs, host #interns and #students, deliver #CapacityBuilding, and disseminate findings to the broader community #AllRounder

[APOPO Science @ApopoScience]

Featuring our incredible #HeroTRAINER Amri and #HeroRAT Caruso

[APOPO Science @ApopoScience]

At disaster sites, trapped survivors may be buried in dense debris. Our #RescueRATs are trained to locate target humans who are progressively more concealed by rubble while ignoring equally hidden non-target items, like clothing and shoes.

#OperantConditioning #SearchAndRescue

[APOPO Science @ApopoScience]

Once weaned, rats are assigned to a project. No matter which, all of them use positive reinforcement & operant conditioning (clicker training). First training steps therefore include sounding a clicker and delivering a tasty reward #OperantConditioning #Pavlov #ClickerTraining

[APOPO Science @ApopoScience]

Our pups are weaned at 10 weeks. Before, when they first open their eyes, a few people start handling them gently. This ensures they are habituated to humans by the time they take their next training steps. It is also when science demands we check their cuteness-level regularly!

[APOPO @herorats]

Thanks to the generous support of the German government (GIZ), #APOPO is pushing boundaries with #innovation. Our remarkable rodents plan to help other animals by sniffing out illegally trafficked species like pangolins.

#RatsToAnimalRescue #ProtectBiodiversity #SmugRATs

[Isabelle Szott @IzzySzott]

En Route to #Behaviour2023 with final edits on my talk. If you want to hear about cute scent detection rats, community engagement in conservation, and how to fight illegal wildlife trade: Friday 12pm, Symposium Y! #PicsAndVidsIncluded #Tanzania #YayScience #AppliedScience

[APOPO Science @ApopoScience]

Our pups are weaned at 10 weeks. Before, when they first open their eyes, a few people start handling them gently. This ensures they are habituated to humans by the time they take their next training steps. It is also when science demands we check their cuteness-level regularly!

[APOPO @herorats]

Did you know that most of our #HeroRATs remain with their siblings as per their natural social behavior? 🐭🐭🐭🐭 Here are 4 sleepy sibling pups in their home nest. Notice how they are going through their first #moult. They shed their downy baby coat and grow a sleek new one.

[APOPO Science @ApopoScience]

#Whoops we accidentally deleted our post on the upcoming presentations at the #Behaviour2023 Congress in #Bielefeld. Talk 1 in Symposium Y for conference attendees and Talk 2 (in German) on Saturday the 19th open to the general public!

[APOPO Science @ApopoScience]

All rats receive extensive habituation & socialisation. This ensures they're comfortable around people, noises, smells, and experiences. Protocols are customised to projects. E.g. Search & Rescue includes sounds of sirens & heavy machinery #Habituation #PreparedForAction #Heroes