Magawa, an African giant pouched rat, has retired after spending the last five years searching for unexploded landmines and other military ordinance in Cambodia, a nation challenged live weapons estimated to be in the millions scattered across the countryside.
According to the Washington Post, Magawa, which means “courage” in one of the Cambodian tribal languages, was awarded a gold medal for bravery in September by the British equivalent of the ASPCA in what was likely one of the most adorable medal-presenting ceremonies in history. Previously, only dogs have been so honored.
With more than 70 detections under his belt, Magawa is one of the most successful graduates of a program run by the Belgian APOPO group to teach small animals how to detected unexploded ordinance. The small size of the African giant pouched rat, just three pounds, is too light to trigger most mines, which require eleven pounds of pressure to explode.
“Although still in good health, he has reached a retirement age and is clearly starting to slow down,” APOPO announced this week. “It is time.”
The animals are fitted with a harness and a guide wire to help guide them through a designated area. When they discover an unexploded ordinance, they are trained to scratch the ground. They can cover ground faster than a human with a metal detector, as well as uncover booby traps not made of metal that a metal detector would miss.