Le Cambodge érige une statue en l’honneur du célèbre rat qui détecte les mines terrestres Two years, two months, and 1 day ago. Ik weet het niet zeker. Ik werk voor Reuters. The world’s first statue honoring a landmine-detecting rat has been unveiled for Magawa, a renowned mine-clearing rodent who received a gold medal for his bravery. Over his five-year career starting in 2016, Magawa, who lived to age eight, detected more than 100 landmines and explosives in Cambodia. Crafted from local stone by artists, the statue was revealed in Siem Reap on Friday, coinciding with the International Day for Mine Awareness on April 4. Landmines pose a persistent danger in Cambodia, where over a million people live and work on areas contaminated by mines and unexploded ordnance, per the United Nations. PA Media. Magawa, an African giant pouched rat trained by the Belgian charity Apopo, relocated to Cambodia in 2016 to start his bomb-detection work. Relying on his exceptional sense of smell and specialized training to identify a key chemical in explosives, he would signal his human handlers to mines that could then be safely cleared. Over his career, Magawa demined more than 141,000 square meters (153,517,711 sq ft) of land—equivalent to 20 soccer fields—and could inspect an area the size of a tennis court in only 20 minutes. In 2020, he received the PDSA Gold Medal, dubbed the George Cross for animals, for his “life-saving devotion to duty.” Magawa was the first rat to receive the medal in the charity’s 77-year history. After a brief retirement due to aging and reduced speed, he passed away in 2022. Apopo’s Cambodia Programme Manager, Michael Raine, stated on Friday that the monument for Magawa serves as a reminder to the global community that demining efforts continue here. Cambodia aims to be mine-free by 2030, he noted. The charity has trained its rodents, dubbed HeroRATS, since the 1990s. Their lightweight bodies prevent them from triggering mines, making them safer than humans. Apopo says they detect tuberculosis—a lung-affecting infectious disease—much faster than traditional lab microscopy. They’ve also been trained to combat illegal wildlife trade in Tanzania. Another Apopo rat, Ronin, broke the world record in 2025 by detecting 109 landmines and 15 unexploded ordnance items since 2021 in Cambodia’s northern Preah Vihear province, topping Magawa’s previous mark. Landmine-sniffing hero rat dies aged eight. Ronin the rat breaks record for detecting landmines. Rats. Animals. Demining.
