When Detecting Land Mines, The Nose Knows — Or, In This Case, The Trunk
In Angola, a civil war that raged for decades has left lingering, and dangerous, reminders of the violence across the countryside. Long since the worst of the fighting ended in 2002, land mines continue to claim lives — and not just those of humans.
Even as the elephant population there saw a replenishment in numbers following the war, many of the mammoth animals were being killed by leftover land mines, as well.
But Angola's wildlife observers have gradually noticed something curious going on. A number of elephants in Angola now appear to steer clear of land mines, even trumpeting warnings about them to other elephants.
That caught the attention of the U.S. Army Research Office, which funded some initial research to see just how, exactly, these lumbering giants manage to sniff out, and step around, the dangerous devices. The idea was to verify whether the claims coming out of Angola were to be believed — and, if so, whether there was any chance of turning these elephants' talents to the purpose of saving lives.
As The Economist has reported: "The US Army's Research Office has been testing the ability of a group of tame elephants in South Africa to find traces of TNT, an explosive, amid decoy odours of bleach, petrol, soap and tea."
Sean Hensman, a South African researcher with the group Adventures with Elephants, took part in that study.
"After a long time," he tells NPR's Scott Simon, "we found out that the [elephants] are very, very good at identifying the scent of TNT and other things, and are very, very quick learners."
And they don't just learn quickly; they also retain that knowledge long afterward.
"We tested one elephant a year after we had done the initial research, and he still passed the whole test with flying colors."
Hensman chalks it up to the elephant's hefty schnozz. "They're reported to have a sense of smell 14 times better than a good dog," he says, "and a good dog is reputed to be about 2,000 times better than you and I."
Hensman is careful to note that the researchers have no intention of actually taking elephants into areas littered with land mines. Rather, he says the U.S. Army is testing the animals' sense of smell in order to design better land mine sensors of their own.
"They spent billions on sensors and understanding a dog's nose. And, you know, if an elephant is that much more sensitive than a dog, they have learned a lot from it. And they've applied that to some of their sensors, which they're testing at the moment."
But that's not where Hensman's ambitions end.
"They're using dogs to detect cancer, they're using dogs to detect diseases," he says, "and if we could use an elephant do the same, then hopefully we can save a lot of people."
For that, elephants could use a little breathless praise. And Hensman's not hesitant about offering them just that.
"They're highly intelligent, they're good fun to be around and to be awed by them is putting it lightly," he says. "They really are very, very special animals."
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Transcript
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Elephants are remarkable creatures. Landmines killed a number of elephants in Angola, but wildlife observers there say they've seen that now elephants in Angola steer clear of landmines. They even trumpet warnings to other elephants. Sean Hensman is a researcher with Adventures with Elephants. He joins us now from Bela-Bela, South Africa. Thanks so much for being with us.
SEAN HENSMAN: Well, thank you, Scott. Thanks for having me.
SIMON: This naturally was of interest, I guess, to the U.S. Army Research Office and they funded a study you participated in, didn't they?
HENSMAN: Yeah, they funded the initial research into the elephants' sensing ability to see, you know, if those claims from Angola were correct. And if they were correct - if there was possibility for them to look at saving lives by understanding the elephants' sense of smell better.
SIMON: Yeah, well, what did you find out, Mr. Hensman?
HENSMAN: After a long time, we found out that the ellies (ph) are very, very good at identifying the scent of TNT and other things, and are very, very quick learners, and also maintain their knowledge very, very well. We tested one elephant a year after we had the done the initial research and he still passed the whole test with flying colors. They're reputed to have a sense of smell 14 times better than a good dog and a good dog is reputed to be about 2,000 times better than you and I.
SIMON: Now, we ought to be clear. You weren't training elephants to tramp through fields to look for landmines, right?
HENSMAN: Yeah, I want to be very clear about that one. Our intention's not to take elephants into landmine areas. Our intention is to just understand the sense of smell of an elephant and see if there's anything that we can do with the elephant in order to try and - exactly that - save lives. The U.S. Army were interested in it to make a better sensor. They've spent billions on sensors and understanding a dog's nose. And, you know, if an elephant is that much more sensitive than a dog, they have learned a lot from it. And they've applied that to some of their sensors, which they're testing at the moment.
SIMON: What do you see as the best objective that this talent elephants apparently have might be put to?
HENSMAN: I'm looking to see if we can use this talent to save elephants and our other wildlife. If we can use these elephant to help find areas with landmines and clear them faster than current methods, then that's fantastic. By bringing in samples to the elephant and getting them to say yes, this area might have landmines and this area has a high likelihood of not having landmines - just clearing land a bit quicker - maybe we could open up areas to wildlife and humans alike. Then we wanted to look past it. They're using dogs to detect cancer. They're using dogs to detect diseases. And if we could use our elephant to do the same, then hopefully we can save a lot of people.
SIMON: Do you - is to work with elephants to become awed by them?
HENSMAN: I must admit I've had elephants since I was 7 years old and there isn't a day that doesn't go past when I am not blown away by them. They are incredible animals. They're highly intelligent. They're good fun to be around and, yeah, to be awed by them is putting it lightly. They really are very, very special animals. It's hard to put that across to somebody on the other side of the world, but when you work with them and play with them every day, you'll have a special feeling for them, which is amazing.
SIMON: Sean Hensman is operator of Adventures with Elephants in Bela-Bela, South Africa. Thanks so much for being with us.
HENSMAN: No problem, thank you for your interest in us. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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