Magawa, a giant African pouched rat, has been awarded a tiny gold medal for his acts of “life-saving bravery and devotion” in detecting landmines in Cambodia. UK veterinary charity PDSA was behind the award, which honors “animal gallantry or devotion to duty.”
- What Magawa has achieved is amazing! During his time in service, he’s sniffed out an insane 39 landmines and 28 unexploded munitions, which is incredible! Just think of how many lives this little guy has saved!
- He’s the first rat to ever get the award. While the PDSA’s Gold Medal has been around for 77 years, Magawa is the first rat to receive it, and one of only 30 animals in total, which is pretty impressive and definitely well-deserved.
- Magawa was trained by animal nonprofit APOPO. However, Magawa is a bit of an overachiever and is their best performing rat, having cleared a whopping 141,000 square meters of land, or 20 football fields. Because of his proficiency, he’s been dubbed “the animal equivalent of the George Cross.”
- It’s not just an honor for Magawa but for his trainers too. As Christophe Cox, chief executive of APOPO, said in a statement, “To receive this medal is really an honor for us. I have been working with APOPO for over 20 years. Especially for our animal trainers who are waking up every day, very early, to train those animals in the morning. But also it is big for the people in Cambodia, and all the people around the world who are suffering from landmines. The PDSA Gold Medal award brings the problem of landmines to global attention.”
- Magawa will be retiring soon. He’s 7 years old now, which means soon it’ll be time for him to retire and live the rest of his days out in relaxing bliss. In the meantime, he’s making an incredible difference to the people of Cambodia. “The work of Magawa and APOPO is truly unique and outstanding. Magawa’s work directly saves and changes the lives of men, women and children who are impacted by these landmines. Every discovery he makes reduces the risk of injury or death for local people,” said Jan McLoughlin, PDSA director general.
