From New York Times
11 Jan 2022
Magawa, Rat That Hunted Land Mines, Dies in Retirement
The African giant pouched rat sniffed out more than 100 mines and other pieces of unexploded ordnance in Cambodia over five years, winning hearts and an international award.
Magawa, a rat who spent most of his life sniffing out land mines in Cambodia and was recognized for his lifesaving contributions, died last weekend, the nonprofit that trained him said in a statement on Tuesday.
The African giant pouched rat was part of the “HeroRAT” initiative run by the Belgian nonprofit APOPO, which works across Southeast Asia and Africa, training rats to detect land mines and tuberculosis.
Over the course of a yearslong career with APOPO, Magawa found more than 100 land mines and other pieces of unexploded ordnance, the nonprofit organization said, describing him as the most successful rat in the program to date.
Magawa’s achievements were honored in 2020 when he received a gold medal bestowed by the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals, a British charity, that is often called the “animals’ George Cross” after a British honor usually given to civilians for acts of bravery and heroism. He was the first rodent recipient of the award in the charity’s history.
“He was a truly exemplary HeroRAT and a very worthy recipient of our PDSA Gold Medal, which recognizes civilian animals who have shown true bravery and exceptional devotion to duty,” Rebecca Buckingham, the awards manager at the British charity, said in a statement on Tuesday. “His legacy will live on for decades to come, in the lives he has helped to save through his incredible work detecting land mines in Cambodia.”
Magawa was born in Tanzania in November 2013, APOPO said, though earlier news releases from the organization put his birth date as a year later. After receiving specialized training, he was moved to Siem Reap in Cambodia in 2016 to begin his career.
Land mines laid in Cambodia during decades of conflict have caused more than 64,000 casualties, according to the HALO Trust, a land mine clearance charity.
Parts of the country are also littered with unexploded ordnance dropped in U.S. airstrikes during the Vietnam War, a 2019 report from the Congressional Research Service found.
APOPO’s so-called “HeroRATs” are trained to detect the explosive TNT, and can search an area the size of a tennis court in 30 minutes. The same work would usually take a person with a metal detector four days.
When the rats find a mine, they signal to their handler by scratching at the earth above it. Their light weight means they are able to avoid detonating mines, unlike humans, so there is minimal risk of injury.
Magawa, who was said to have been partial to treats of watermelon, banana and peanuts when not sniffing for mines, was taken off duty last year to much fanfare from the world’s news media. APOPO said he had remained in good health during his retirement up until his last days, when he appeared to slow down and lose his appetite.
“Magawa will leave a lasting legacy in the lives that he saved as a land mine detection rat in Cambodia,” APOPO said in a statement honoring him that was published on its website.
Those are some large rats! I want one to fight off all the cats in my yard
I couldn’t find a pic with one and a cat side by side, but I’m sure they would think twice about the giant rat.
Here’s some people holding them:
And here is one next to the typical pet fancy rat:
I also got distracted by the whole bomb thing and didn’t mention they are “pouched” rats because they are the only rat with cheek pouches like a hamster. Here’s one loading up some food for later:
are they domesticated? how long do they live?? i want one so bad
I saw some people have them as pets, but there are a lot of rules in some places. In the US, I believe they are labeled as an invasive species and are banned from import, though some are raised domestically that can become pets.
They didn’t sound like a good beginner rodent either just because of their size, energy, potential for destruction if bored, and a strong need for constant socialization. There’s no readily available pouched rat chow or anything else they may need either, etc.
Here is an article about keeping pouched rats.
They can live 7 years or more, much longer than a fancy rat.
You can sponsor one of the ones at Apopo and they send you an info pack and adoption certificate and let them do all the care and work!
2 minute video of the rats training
They look very well cared for, and the video states none of the rats has ever been injured or killed by the work.
As great as I think this project is I can’t help but feel bad about having the animals clean up our mess.
The great part is that the rats aren’t forced to do it.
To the rats, they are basically only doing their natural behavior of sniffing out objects. The rats are put into supervised training, only work with one individual or stable pair of trainers, and get 9-12 months of training to see if they are willing and able to do the job. If they don’t take to it, they aren’t forced to learn.
In return, the rats get a great life, being cared for, treated as individuals, and they get to retire and participate in the breeding program.
Humans made the mess, but the guilty parties that placed the mines are never going to be the ones removing them. It’s almost always innocent people that suffer, being killed, injured, or even just having parts of their homeland otherwise be off limits due to the danger. This work helps return those people’s lives back to the way they should have been. They can’t fix anyone who’s already been hurt or killed, but they can assure it will not happen again.
The Apopo website is very amazing and covers so much important info. Anyone who enjoyed the story should take a look. Here is their FAQ to get started.
In addition to the mines, the rats also detect tuberculosis to minimize outbreaks and sniff out endangered species so they can be protected. Humans are great at a lot of things, but in many ways, animals natural skills leave us behind in the dust. By working together, it allows us to become much more effective at making life better for humans and animals.
