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Dogs are not the only animals with jobs meant to keep us safe. In Cambodia and other countries affected by landmines, rats are trained to sniff out these explosives, allowing the authorities to remove them without harm. Magawa, an African giant pouched rat, was one such heroic rodent, as he detected 100 landmines over the course of his life. Now, Cambodia has honored him with the world’s first statue dedicated to a landmine-detecting rat.
Magawa was bred in Tanzania and then trained by the Belgian charity Apopo. In 2016, he was sent to Cambodia as part of the HeroRATS program, where he worked for five years. Since he was very small and light, he did not trigger mines if he walked over them. Throughout his life, Magawa cleared 1,517,711 square feet of land, becoming the most successful landmine-sniffing rat ever trained by Apopo. Magawa was also said to be very fast, being able to search a field the size of a tennis court in just 20 minutes; a task that would have taken a person with a metal detector a few days. Sadly, he passed away shortly after retirement in 2022.
This recently unveiled statue isn’t the first tribute Magawa received for his services though. In 2020, he was awarded the UK’s People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) Gold Medal, considered one of the highest honors an animal can receive, for his “life-saving devotion to duty.” With this, Magawa became the first rat to be given this award.
The unveiling of this latest tribute (the statue) took place ahead of the International Day for Mine Awareness; a stark reminder that landmines continue to be a significant threat to people in Cambodia, even after years of de-mining efforts. According to the United Nations, more than a million people continue to work and live on land contaminated by mines and unexploded ordnance.
“A symbol of hope and resilience, the monument makes visible the ongoing impact of landmines and the quiet work of #HeroRATs saving lives every day,” wrote Apopo on Instagram in celebration of the statue. To support their mission and learn more, visit Apopo’s website.
Cambodia has honored Magawa, a heroic rat that detected 100 landmines over the course of his life, with a statue.
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The unveiling of the statue took place ahead of the International Day for Mine Awareness.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
Throughout his life, Magawa cleared 1,517,711 square feet of land, becoming the most successful landmine-sniffing rat ever trained by Belgian charity Apopo.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
Sources: Cambodia unveils statue to honour famous landmine-sniffing rat; Magawa, the landmine-sniffing hero rat, dies aged eight; Commemorating three decades of UNDP work against the brutality of landmines
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