Giant African rats are being trained to detect land mines in Cambodia

The Cambodian government is training giant rats to detect land mines after seeing the results of a similar program done in Africa.

Bart Weetjens started the Belgian nonprofit APOPO, to train animals to detect mines. After doing research, they found that rats are much more intelligent than they are credited for, and have just as strong a sense of smell as dogs. Rats are also easier to maintain and much cheaper than dogs.

It is suggested that there are millions of active mines scattered throughout the country -- in 2014 alone there were over 100 land mine related injuries or deaths in the country.

See the fascinating images above of the rats beginning their training in Cambodia.