Elephants trained to smell out explosives

Elephants are being trained to use their exceptional sense of smell to sniff out explosives in the South African countryside.

Their sense of smell is actually one of the most powerful of any mammal.

In the wild, African elephants use their massive trunks - packed full of special receptors - to help them sniff out family members keeping their herd together.

On one wildlife reserve in South Africa they've spent years training his elephants to put their sense of smell to good use for humans.

Over two years the team carried out the same exercise, and remarkably the elephants were able to pick out the explosive scent.

The US military heard about the work and sent a team of scientists to the reserve to find out how the creatures intense sense of smell could be used to search landmines across the world.

While these beautiful mammals won't be used to sniff out bombs on the battle field anytime soon, it's hoped the US military will be able to build better bomb detectors for the future.