Cambodia's landmine-sniffing 'hero' rat dies aged eight

Magawa, the landmine-detecting “hero rat” has died aged eight, the NGO that trained him said in a news release.

The African Giant Pouched rat was renowned for finding 71 landmines and 38 items of unexploded ordnance during his career, APOPO said.

During his working life, Magawa’s job title was HeroRat, and he was awarded a gold medal by the UK-based veterinary charity PDSA in 2020, before retiring in June 2021.

Cambodia has one of the highest number of mine amputees per capita in the world, with more than 40,000, PDSA says.

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