Bomb-Sniffing Elephants?

…The pachyderm is among a group of tame African elephants helping the U.S. military develop an artificial "nose" that could safely and effectively detect bombs and other explosive devices, officials say.

The U.S. Army Research Office experiments, which take place at the Adventures with Elephants ranch here, are part of an effort to better understand—and eventually reproduce—elephants’ stellar sense of smell.

The objective, says Stephen Lee of the U.S. Army Research Office, is not to put elephants in the field of combat or use them for mine detection.…