A statue has been unveiled in Cambodia in honor of a famous rat minelayer who was awarded a gold medal for heroism. This is the first statue in the world dedicated to a rat sapper.
The BBC writes about this.
The rodent statue was carved by artists from local stone and unveiled in Siem Reap in time for International Mine Awareness Day, which is celebrated on April 4.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
Magawa lived to be eight years old. He was trained to search for munitions by the Belgian charity APOPO, and in 2016 he moved to Cambodia, where he began his career.
Using his keen sense of smell and being trained to detect the chemical compound in explosives, Magawa signaled the operators about the presence of mines, which could then be safely defused.
During his time working, Magawa cleared over 141 000 m² of territory — the equivalent of 20 football fields — and could survey an area the size of a tennis court in just 20 minutes.
In 2020, Magawa received the PDSA Gold Medal — known as the George Cross for animals — for his “dedication to the duty of saving lives”. He became the first rat in the charity’s 77-year history to receive the award.
After a brief "retirement" due to old age, Magawa died in 2022.
Why rats are trained to search for explosives
The charity APOPO has been training its rodents, also known as HeroRATS, since the 1990s. Their small size means the rats are not heavy enough to detonate landmines, making them a safer alternative to humans.
According to Apopo, they can also detect tuberculosis much faster than can be done in a laboratory using traditional microscopy.
They were also trained to prevent illegal wildlife trade in Tanzania.
Another rat named Ronin, trained by Apopo, set a new world record in 2025, detecting 109 landmines and 15 pieces of unexploded ordnance since 2021. Roninʼs impressive work in the northern Cambodian province of Preah Vihear surpassed the previous record set by Mahava.
- According to the UN, mines remain a constant threat to Cambodia, and more than a million people continue to work and live on land contaminated by mines and unexploded ordnance.
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