The hero Belgian rat and its statue in Cambodia
Yes, you read that correctly. Magawa, a Belgian rat, is being honoured with a statue in Cambodia. A tribute fit for a hero.
Well, we say “Belgian”. Magawa was an African giant pouched rat born in Tanzania, trained by Apopo, a Belgian organisation, to detect land mines. Magawa was deployed in Cambodia, where thousands of undetonated explosives loom. He learned to recognise the smell of the explosive TNT, which is used in lots of landmines. The furry hero was taught to stop walking when he detected TNT, and a human would mark the spot where he stopped for safe removal. How did he not trip the mines, you ask? Simple: rats like Magawa don’t weigh enough to trigger the explosive mechanism.
The hero rat detected a good 100 landmines and other explosives during his career, retiring in 2021, passing away at the ripe old age of 8 at the beginning of the following year. His statue was unveiled in Siem Reap on 3 April, the international day against landmines. A beautiful honour for a heroic animal, the most successful of his kind.
Rats off to him!