1053
I don’t get the hate on rats. This little guy is adorable.
Clearly you've never been mugged by one in Chicago. We grow em extra big here.
Here is a lovely statue of a rat knitting DNA:
We owe a lot to rats.
That is a mouse.
Most research is in mouse models.
I love this statue! It's in Novosibirsk. I've always wanted to go there and see it in real life. Once the war is finally over and Russia is free again I'll pay a visit to that little rodent.
Russia is free again
I really wish that will happen as well, but when has Russia actually been free?
Sure, somewhen like 7000bc at least
Jokes aside, I do believe in a better future. As bleak as everything looks, I strongly want to believe that all the amazing people I've met who want change can achieve it. Even if chances aren't great, I do believe it is possible. After all, what life is left inside you if you decide to not have hope?
I'm sorry but "rat backpack"? You should have said rat pack as part of a rat patrol.
I had companion rats. I had 7 of them (almost all rescued). they’re smart little guys. they can be toilet trained and you can teach them all sorts of tricks. I miss my rats :(
I have three right now. Theyre very sweet little guys with intense personality. It should be a crime how little their life span is.
it sucks that animals that can be SO affectionate (they pee on you to claim you as theirs lol) only live for 2-3 years, 4 if you're really really really lucky. It sucks :/
I assume you didn't get new ones because there is no replacement for the band of 7 that you initially had?
I had that with my cat. He lived for 21 years, we got him when I was in kindergarten. I could not imagine getting a new cat. I miss him, but I don't miss having a cat, I miss this cat. I'm not sure if it is better or worse the longer the lifespan is, I imagine losing a beloved pet after 3 years is brutal.
I didn’t get anymore because my poor heart couldn’t take losing a loved companion after only a couple years :(. I won’t get any more rats. my heart can’t take the loss
Elf and human situation.
I wish they would live longer, then I absolutely would get some. They are so precious, I don't think I could take losing them so fast.
They also can detect mines and have been highly successful in saving countless limbs/lives in that field too(no pun intended). https://apopo.org/?v=0b3b97fa6688
Everyone needs to consider donating to them!
I have a monthly donation set up with them and get a monthly report how many mines a rat managed to find
They were also hit quite hard by the usaid shutdown, so they really can use any help they can get
Also: !petrats@lemmy.world needs more activity
Thank you for writing more about APOPO. My wife and I don't gift each other things anymore. We choose a nonprofit to donate to on Christmas, anniversary, or birthdays. APOPO will be on my list.
Really cool.
That is a great idea!!
Thanks for the link. This is really cool work! Search and pre-rescue rats are a small part of what Apopo does: they mostly do unexploded mine clearance and tuberculosis detection! 😳
What's in the backpack?!
Its little lunch and a sweater the doc packed in case it's cold.
My guess would be an accelerometer. Then you can plot out the mouses path and get the location of the person
sounds like it's a gps transponder
Probably something other than gps, because that doesnt work when under a bunch of rubble. Well thats what i assume because gps doesnt even work inside uncollapsed buildings.
It's some kind of tracker regardless, more info and action pics(!) here: https://apopo.org/innovation-2023/?v=7885444af42e
I do hope it has a little speaker that says "don't worry human, help is on its way" in a cute high pitched voice.
C4
Some sort of signal emitter maybe? So the rescue team knows to look where the hero rat triggered it.
Cheese
I'd start wondering if I was dead and hell was a RL Disney remake.
Me in collapsed building, seeing a rat with a backpack:
HOLY SHIT; NIMH IS REAL!?
... Yes nimh is real. It's based on the real nimh!
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They should train them to bring down a little can on a string so you can talk to them 😂
I mean, you joke, but you couod probabky kit them out with a small Bluetooth earbud to pass off.
Could you imagine? You're trapped after an earthquake, and convinced you're going to die, and a little rat comes up, and you begin to get scared he's going to chew on your face, but he hands you a Bluetooth earpiece, and scurries off to get his treat. You pop it in your ear, and your rescuers are on the other end!
I'd want to meet that rat when it was over. Give him an entire granola bar.
I want that job!
They can also train turtles to do ninjitsu.
Now if only we could get that rat past Israeli blockade 🇵🇸
Took me a sec to get that the #womaninstem wasnt referring to the rat lol
Gotta love a heroic snotpest
There’s also those huge rats they train to find landmines… rats are truly under appreciated.
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this post was submitted on 18 Feb 2026
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