You must know drug detection dogs*, they always help police a lot. But how about"drug detection squirrels"? Recently, Chongqi ng police have successfully trained* six squirrels to detect drugs. They began their work in early February.
claws Squirrels have a good sense of smell. They can smell food 30 centimeters* under snow. Being so small, they can find drugs in places where dogs may not be able to reach, such as in small or high places. The squirrels are able to use their claws to scratch at boxes to tell the police if they detect drugs, according to Chongqing police.
How to train different kinds of animals? First, the animals need to know the drug's smell very well. The trainers can put pieces of cloth with the drug's smell next to the animals' food. Next, the animals learn to search for the drug in different places, such as from a large number of bags or among people walking in crowds. If the animals successfully detect the drug, the police will"pay"them with food. After training for some time, the animals will have the conditioned reflex and they will be good at looking for drugs.
