In 2013, it was estimated that there was a global average of around nine mine-related deaths every day. The situation is especially dire in Africa.
Typically, clearing a minefield involves men in body armor walking in very precise lines with metal detectors.
Anything (from a rusty nail to an old ammo cartridge) that sets the detectors off must be investigated before moving on.
A new method of bomb detection using rats, however, is flipping this process on its head.
A Belgian NGO called APOPO has developed a way to train African pouched rats (named for the storage pouch in their cheeks) to sniff out bombs quickly and safely.
