'Hero' rat who detected more than 100 landmines dies aged 8

Magawa with the PDSA Gold Medal in 2020. File picture: PDSA via AP

A rat who was dubbed a hero for his work detecting landmines in Cambodia has died at the age of 8.

Magawa, an African giant pouched rat, spent five years sniffing out landmines and unexploded ordnance in Cambodia.

The rodent was trained by the Belgian charity Apopo to find landmines and alert its human handlers so the explosives could be safely removed.

He found more than 100 landmines and other explosives, making him the charity’s most successful “HeroRAT” to date.

The charity said that Magawa passed away peacefully this weekend.

The rat had been in good health, but at the weekend “he started to slow down, napping more and showing less interest in food in his last days”.

Apopo said that the Magawa’s contribution “allows communities in Cambodia to live, work, and play; without fear of losing life or limb”.

Magawa was presented with a PDSA Gold Medal in 2020, which Apopo says is the highest award for gallantry an animal can receive. He retired in 2021.

Our HeroRATs don't need a leash to go from place to place, they just follow us around! 🧡🐭 pic.twitter.com/e58KhEVDXz

— APOPO (@herorats) December 27, 2021

Born in Tanzania at the Sokoine University of Agriculture in 2013, Magawa moved to Siem Reap in Cambodia in 2016 where he began his career.

While many rodents can be trained to detect scents and will work at repetitive tasks for food rewards, Apopo decided that African giant pouched rats were best suited to landmine clearance because their size allows them to walk across minefields without triggering the explosives – and they do it much more quickly than people.

The creatures can also live up to eight years.

More than 60 million people in 59 countries continue to be threatened by landmines and unexploded ordinance.

In 2018, landmines and other remnants of war killed or injured 6,897 people, the group says.

The charity added in a statement: “It is thanks to all of you that Magawa will leave a lasting legacy in the lives that he saved as a landmine detection rat in Cambodia. Thank you all, from the bottom of our hearts, for your support during this difficult time.”

- additional reporting from AP