The pangolin, an endangered anteater that is one of the world's most poached animals, could use a hero. Fortunately, a big rat is training for the job.
Actually, 11 African giant pouched rats are. At a research center in central Tanzania, the 2-foot-long rodents are learning to detect the smell of pangolins' armor-like scales, which are smuggled to Asia for use in sham traditional remedies. If the rats succeed, they and their twitching noses could eventually deploy to ports, national park borders and even highways to sniff out illegal shipments and help bust traffickers.
The species already has a strong track record in detection.