# Bomb sniffing elephants
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-sniffing-elephants/714819
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [March 12, 2015, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-sniffing-elephants/714819 "2015-03-12T11:49:59Z")
**Posts on this page:** 18
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2015, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-sniffing-elephants/714819/1 "2015-03-12T11:49:59Z")
Some researchers in South Africa are looking into the use of [elephants to detect the presence of explosive devices.](http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=38145:bomb-sniffing-elephants-trained-in-south-africa&catid=90:science-a-defence-technology&Itemid=204) Evidently the big nose of an elephant is comparable to dogs in its ability to detect explosive material in small amounts although the dogs require constant training while the elephants always remember the scent.
They don’t work for peanuts though - just fruit. 🙂
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2015, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-sniffing-elephants/714819/2 "2015-03-12T12:13:43Z")
The jokes write themselves
1.) well, at least with a trunk, they can keep away from the bombs.
2.) Since Ringling Brothers are phasing out elephants at the circus, it’s a good thing this new employment opportunity opened up.
3.) I give up – how do you make Elephant Jerky?
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### Author:  [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2015, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-sniffing-elephants/714819/3 "2015-03-12T12:21:49Z")
Now with twin blast shields!
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2015, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-sniffing-elephants/714819/4 "2015-03-12T12:23:34Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#):
>
> The jokes write themselves
>
> 3.) I give up – how do you make Elephant Jerky?
More like Elephant Slaw.
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### Author:  [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2015, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-sniffing-elephants/714819/5 "2015-03-12T13:42:09Z")
[Or how about dolphins?](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ps7LXp8nK3g)
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### Author:  [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2015, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-sniffing-elephants/714819/6 "2015-03-12T14:11:31Z")
> [@running\_coach](#):
>
> More like Elephant Slaw.
Okay, now I’ve got coffee all over my desk… thanks for that!
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### Author:  [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2015, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-sniffing-elephants/714819/7 "2015-03-12T18:18:23Z")
Can you imagine the Bomb Sniffing Elephant Brigade, pacing up and down the airport terminals?
Sniffing out lockers at the local high school?
The practical applications are practically unlimited! 🙂
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### Author:  [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2015, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-sniffing-elephants/714819/8 "2015-03-12T18:27:16Z")
Given the choice, I’d rather have an elephant between me and the bomb. Doggies may be man’s best friend, but they don’t absorb nearly as much shrapnel…
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### Author:  [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2015, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-sniffing-elephants/714819/9 "2015-03-12T18:48:58Z")
Is there any reason not to use Gambian pouched rats? One of the reasons that they’ve become popular is because they’re light enough to not set off the mines. Somehow I’m doubting that the same is true for an elephant. One of the other reasons that they’ve become popular is because they are easy to transport. Again, with the elephant, not so much…
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-sniffing-elephants/714819/10 "2015-03-13T00:34:17Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#):
>
> Is there any reason not to use Gambian pouched rats? …
We’ve all heard apocryphal stories of guys trying to hunt with an illegal dynamite assist and having their loyal dog retrieve the charge with burning fuse then hide under the pickup truck with predictable comic results.
I’d never heard of those Gambian pouched rats, but the first thought that popped to mind was the rat putting the ticking bomb in its pouch and obediently trotting back to its master hoping for a treat for such good work. BOOM! Oops.
Better to pick a bomb-searching critter that can’t possibly carry anything.
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### Author:  [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2015, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-sniffing-elephants/714819/11 "2015-03-13T01:14:23Z")
Bomb-sniffing sloths. Even if they try to “retrieve” the ticking time bomb, you can just outrun them easy-peasy.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2015, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-sniffing-elephants/714819/12 "2015-03-13T01:58:39Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#):
>
> Bomb-sniffing sloths. Even if they try to “retrieve” the ticking time bomb, you can just outrun them easy-peasy.
I like the way you think! 😃
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### Author:  [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2015, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-sniffing-elephants/714819/13 "2015-03-13T02:21:51Z")
> [@Sarabellum1976](#):
>
> Can you imagine the Bomb Sniffing Elephant Brigade, pacing up and down the airport terminals?
>
> Sniffing out lockers at the local high school?
>
> The practical applications are practically unlimited! 🙂
I’ve been in parades in NYC before.
NYPD & FDNY may be fine & brave & all that ‘stuff’; however, without a doubt, my favorite uniformed service is DSNY, 'cause they march with a trash can on wheels & a shovel! 😉
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### Author:  [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2015, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-sniffing-elephants/714819/14 "2015-03-13T03:44:17Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#):
>
> Is there any reason not to use Gambian pouched rats?
Well, i think there is precedent and reason not to use them at the same time as the elephants.
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### Author:  [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2015, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-sniffing-elephants/714819/15 "2015-03-13T05:33:06Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> We’ve all heard apocryphal stories of guys trying to hunt with an illegal dynamite assist and having their loyal dog retrieve the charge with burning fuse then hide under the pickup truck with predictable comic results.
>
> I’d never heard of those Gambian pouched rats, but the first thought that popped to mind was the rat putting the ticking bomb in its pouch and obediently trotting back to its master hoping for a treat for such good work. BOOM! Oops.
>
> Better to pick a bomb-searching critter that can’t possibly carry anything.
While large, a Gambian rat is still only about the size of a cat, and its “pouch” is its cheeks. They can inflate a fair amount, but I don’t imagine a landmine fitting in their mouth. Nor would I expect the rat to dig the things up to try it out.
[BBC Video about HeroRATs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0swUc492hU)
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### Author:  [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2015, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-sniffing-elephants/714819/16 "2015-03-13T15:42:30Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#):
>
> 3.) I give up – how do you make Elephant Jerky?
One time and one time only, I was offered elephant jerky to taste up North here in Thailand. I declined. Never heard of it again, but I’m reasonably sure it wasn’t a joke. ☹
But this is irrelephant.
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### Author:  [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-sniffing-elephants/714819/17 "2015-03-13T16:19:42Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#):
>
> Is there any reason not to use Gambian pouched rats? One of the reasons that they’ve become popular is because they’re light enough to not set off the mines. Somehow I’m doubting that the same is true for an elephant. One of the other reasons that they’ve become popular is because they are easy to transport. Again, with the elephant, not so much…
In all seriousness, what I’ve heard is that - typical of most rodents - the pouched rats spend an enormous amount of time grooming themselves. Send them out into a muddy field to search for mines and they’ll stop every few seconds to clean the dirt out of their fur. (Seriously: look at the tank/cage of mice at a pet store for a few minutes. If they’re awake, they’re either eating, running the wheel, or grooming. Jokes aside, rodents make their historical enemy the cats look like filthy pigs by comparison.)
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### Author:  [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-sniffing-elephants/714819/18 "2015-03-13T17:44:29Z")
BOMB SQUAD CAPTAIN: (looks up. Blinks. Blinks again.) “We’re gonna need a bigger truck.”