Giant rat that sniffs out land mines wins medal for animal bravery

A rat has for the first time won a British charity’s top civilian award for animal bravery, receiving the honor for searching out unexploded land mines in Cambodia.

Magawa, a giant African pouched rat, was awarded the PDSA’s Gold Medal for his “lifesaving bravery and devotion” after discovering 39 land mines and 28 items of unexploded ordnance in the past seven years, according to the charity.

First known as the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals, PDSA started as a free veterinary clinic in 1917 and has honored heroic animals since 1943.

Magawa was trained by a Belgian organization that has taught rats to find land mines for more than 20 years. The group, APOPO, works with programs in Cambodia, Angola, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to clear millions of mines left behind from wars and conflicts.

Magawa is the group’s most successful rat, having cleared more than 141,000 square meters of land, the equivalent of some 20 soccer fields.

More than 60 million people in 59 countries continue to be threatened by land mines and unexploded ordnance, according to APOPO. In 2018, land mines and other remnants of war killed or injured 6,897 people, the group says.

While many rodents can be trained to detect scents and will work at repetitive tasks for food rewards, APOPO decided that giant African pouched rats were best suited to land mine clearance because of their African origins and lifespan of up to eight years.

PDSA also awards the Dickin Medal for military service, which has been awarded to 34 dogs, 32 pigeons, four horses and one cat.