Legendary minesweeper rat Magawa is dead

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Minesweeper rat Magawa with a medal around his neck

Photo: CINDY LIU / REUTERS

Magawa was successfully deployed in Cambodia for five years.

The hero-rodent sniffed out land mines and explosives lurking in the ground and probably saved many people's lives with them.

The giant hamster rat from Tanzania came to Cambodia at the age of nine months and was trained there to recognize TNT.

Magawa only officially retired in June 2021.

It was said that the animal was healthy and full of energy until shortly before its death.

At the weekend, the rat "at the old age of eight" fell asleep peacefully, said the Belgian aid organization Apopo, which had trained the animal, on Wednesday.

"All of us at Apopo mourn Magawa and are grateful for the incredible work he has done," the organization wrote on its website.

"In his career, Magawa has found over 100 landmines and other explosives, making him Apopo's most successful HeroRAT to date."

Order for life's work

Sniffer rats can track down mines much faster than metal detectors.

According to Apopo, 96 so-called HeroRATs are currently helping to find explosive devices around the world before they injure or kill people.

Magawa had helped restore a total of 225,000 square meters of land.

Cambodia is still one of the most heavily mined countries in the world.

Most of the explosive devices come from the decades of terror of the Khmer Rouge from 1975 onwards.

For his life-saving work, Magawa was the first rat ever to receive the UK's highest animal order in 2020.

A small gold medal was specially placed on a blue ribbon around the neck of the brave rodent.

ala / dpa