Rat ambassadors show off abilities to help humans, wildlife

San Diego Zoo wildlife care specialist Lauren Credidio provides a treat to Runa, an African giant pouched rat, after she searched and found a pouch of chamomile tea during a presentation at the zoo Thursday, April 13, 2023, in San Diego. Runa weekly in demonstrations at the zoo to show how her keen sense of smell can be used to find everything from illegal shipments of wildlife to landmines. The organization that trained Runa has started providing the rats to U.S. zoos with the hope of changing the public's perception of the animals. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)