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He has taken his retirement Magawa, the rat decorated to detect anti-personnel mines in CambodiaHe did so after 5 years of service during which his nose found 71 mines and 38 unexploded bombs.
The rodent cleared approximately 225,000 square meters in areas of Cambodia affected by bombs and abandoned mines, allowing residents to resume their activities without fear of dying or being amputated.
The cute rodent worked for the Belgian NGO APOPO, which said in a statement that this giant African rat from Tanzania in 2013, “he directly saved the lives of men, women and children affected by hidden mines and other deadly remnants of war.”
Thus, Malen, one of the guardians of the male rat, pointed out his “unparalleled performance” and his pride in working alongside an animal “small, but which has saved many lives.”
“He has allowed us to return land to people safe in the fastest and most economical way possible. But he is slowing down and we have to respect his needs. We miss working with him,” he said.
Deserved recognition
The rat received a gold medal last September for its “courage” and “dedication” from the PDSA (acronym for People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals) organization, which rewards animals for their “courage and dedication”.
This recognition made her the first rat to receive such an award in the 77-year history of PDSA and shares the glory with many dogs, horses, pigeons and a cat.
Cambodia is the second country most affected by this type of weapon after Afghanistan and up to 6 million are believed to have been placed during armed conflicts in the country between 1975 and 1998, of which 3 million have yet to be located.
Landmines have claimed an estimated 64,000 lives in the country, which has the largest number of mine amputees per capita in the world: more than 40,000 for a population of 16 million.
It takes nine months to form a heroRAT, the training uses tasty rewards given to them to find the mines, which they locate by scratching the surface of the ground.
While rats are big, Magawa It weighs 1.2 kilograms and is 70 centimeters long, the weight is not enough to detonate the mines.
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