African giant rat called “Magawa” earns a Gold Medal in Cambodia
An African giant rat has been awarded a prestigious prize which is a gold medal for saving lives.
Magawa was trained by non-governmental organization APOPO, and according to APOPO Magawa, the seven-year-old was born and raised in Tanzania – weighs 1.2kg (2.6lb) and is 70cm (28in) long. While that is far larger than many other rat species, Magawa is still small enough and light enough that he does not trigger mines if he walks over them.
The brave rodent earned the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals(PDSA) Gold Medal on Friday, September 25. PDSA’s gold medal inscribed with the words “For animal gallantry or devotion to duty”.
Of the 30 animal recipients of the award, Magawa is the first rat. The hero rat has sniffed out 39 unexploded land mines and 28 munitions over the last few years.
Magawa is capable of searching a field the size of a tennis court in just 20 minutes – something Apopo says would take a person with a metal detector between one and four days.
Magawa works for just half an hour a day in the mornings and is nearing retirement age, but PDSA director general Jan McLoughlin said his work with Apopo was “truly unique and outstanding”.
Magawa’s work directly saves and changes the lives of men, women and children who are impacted by these landmines,” she told the Press Association. “Every discovery he makes reduces the risk of injury or death for local people.”
Cambodia has the highest number of mine amputees per capita in the world – more than 40,000 people.
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