The Hero Rats of Tanzania (full documentary) | FRONTLINE/World

Go inside an effort to train giant rats to sniff out deadly unexploded land mines — and save lives. (Aired 2007)

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Bart Weetjens founded a unique lab in Tanzania dedicated to training rats to sniff out deadly unexploded land mines — the legacy of countless bloody conflicts. Although dogs had traditionally been used to help humans detect mines, Weetjens, who had long felt a special bond with rodents, realized that African giant pouched rats were lighter, cheaper to care for, and less susceptible to tropical disease.

In “Hero Rats,” FRONTLINE/World reporter Alexis Bloom accompanied Weetjens to neighboring Mozambique to watch his organization’s trained rodents in action. She also visited a school there that was cleared of landmines with the help of the rats, allowing the children to resume their education and play without fear of stepping on a mine. The rats save human lives, Weetjens said, “and, yes, they are heroes, actually.”

“Tanzania: Hero Rats” was produced by Cassandra Herrman. It was reported by Alexis Bloom. For FRONTLINE/World, the coordinating producer was David Ritsher and the senior producer was Ken Dornstein. The founder and executive producer of FRONTLINE was David Fanning.

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#Documentary #Tanzania #Landmines #Rats

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FRONTLINE/World was a production of GBH in Boston. The executive producer was David Fanning.

FRONTLINE is produced at GBH in Boston and airs nationwide on PBS. The editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE is Raney Aronson-Rath.

Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, with major support from Ford Foundation, and The Fialkow Family Foundation. Additional support for FRONTLINE is provided by the Abrams Foundation, Park Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Heising-Simons Foundation, and the FRONTLINE Trust, with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and Corey David Sauer, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 - How a Lab in Tanzania Trained Rats to Detect Land Mines
04:24 - Watch Rats Detecting Land Mines in Mozambique
08:32 - Bart Weetjens on Why Mine-Sniffing Rats Are ‘Heroes’
10:20 - Credits Receive SMS online on sms24.me

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