Bomb Sniffing Elephants?

National Geographic: Can Elephants' Amazing Sense of Smell Help Sniff Out Bombs?

The U.S. military’s push for better bomb detectors involves taking cues from elephants’ ability to locate TNT.

BELA BELA, South Africa—Chishuru, a large African elephant bull with a talent for sniffing out TNT, stood in front of a line of seven white buckets.

Inside one of the buckets on a recent morning was a slight trace of TNT on a piece of paper stapled to the bottom. Chishuru's job was to find out exactly which bucket it was—using his nimble trunk to guide the way.

The elephant ambled between the buckets, snaking his long trunk into each one—there were different, harmless scent traces in each bucket—and taking a big sniff before moving on to the next. At the fifth bucket he paused and raised his right leg, indicating to a research team that this was the one with a trace of TNT inside. Bingo.

WNU Editor: I understand that they are trying to understand the science that is involved in detecting certain smells .... but there is one U.S. politician who is not impressed .... McCain: Pentagon wasting money studying 'bomb-sniffing elephants' (The Hill).

More News On Elephants And Their Uncanny Ability To Detect Explosives

Bomb-sniffing ELEPHANTS could save lives: Animals can identify explosives using their incredible sense of smell -- Daily Mail
Elephants trained by US Army to sniff out bombs -- The Week
Elephants trained to sniff out trouble -- Washington Post
Elephants Trained To Sniff Out Bombs, Bio Weapons In South Africa -- Inquisitr
Bomb-sniffing elephants could help military ID explosives -- New York Post/AP