Apopo Hero Rat Program

Thank you for supporting the Apopo HeroRAT program at The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens!

African giant pouched rats, nicknamed HeroRATs, are helping to find landmines and detecting tuberculosis as part of an integrated approach. When deployed alongside standard methods, they speed up the process, getting people’s lives back on track as fast as possible. Did you know:

• A HeroRAT can search an area the size of a tennis court in 30 minutes – a human deminer with a metal detector can take up to 4 days!
• A HeroRAT screens 100 sputum samples in 20 minutes. A lab technician using microscopy takes up to 4 days.

Together, your support of the HeroRAT program transforms innovative science into real-world impact, saving lives, restoring communities, and proving that even the smallest heroes can make an extraordinary difference.

If you need additional assistance, please contact us at 
[email protected] or call (760) 346-5694.