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The Hero Rats of Tanzania (full documentary) | FRONTLINE/World
Posted
July 28, 2026
Views
614
Likes
65
Comments
6
Engagement
11.56%
July 28, 2026
614
65
6
11.56%
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10:52Now PlayingGo inside an effort to train giant rats to sniff out deadly unexploded land mines — and save lives. (Aired 2007)
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Bart Weetjens founded a unique lab in Tanzania dedicated to training rats to sniff out deadly unexploded land mines — the legacy of countless bloody conflicts. Although dogs had traditionally been used to help humans detect mines, Weetjens, who had long felt a special bond with rodents, realized that African giant pouched rats were lighter, cheaper to care for, and less susceptible to tropical disease.
In “Hero Rats,” FRONTLINE/World reporter Alexis Bloom accompanied Weetjens to neighboring Mozambique to watch his organization’s trained rodents in action. She also visited a school there that was cleared of landmines with the help of the rats, allowing the children to resume their education and play without fear of stepping on a mine. The rats save human lives, Weetjens said, “and, yes, they are heroes, actually.”
“Tanzania: Hero Rats” was produced by Cassandra Herrman. It was reported by Alexis Bloom. For FRONTLINE/World, the coordinating producer was David Ritsher and the senior producer was Ken Dornstein. The founder and executive producer of FRONTLINE was David Fanning.
We are making episodes from FRONTLINE/World’s archive newly available here on YouTube and on pbs.org as part of an effort to make our past reporting widely accessible.
Originally developed by FRONTLINE producers in conjunction with public television stations KQED San Francisco and WGBH Boston, FRONTLINE/World launched in 2002 as a national public TV series that turned its lens on the global community, covering countries and cultures rarely seen on American television. The series completed its final broadcast season in 2010.
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FRONTLINE/World was a production of GBH in Boston. The executive producer was David Fanning.
FRONTLINE is produced at GBH in Boston and airs nationwide on PBS. The editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE is Raney Aronson-Rath.
Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, with major support from Ford Foundation, and The Fialkow Family Foundation. Additional support for FRONTLINE is provided by the Abrams Foundation, Park Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Heising-Simons Foundation, and the FRONTLINE Trust, with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and Corey David Sauer, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen.
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