Cambodia honours a life-saving rat

ANGKOR WAT, a vast ancient temple complex in western Cambodia, is thought to be home to more than 1,000 statues. On April 3rd a new one was added—but this one is neither a Hindu deity nor a heavenly dancer; rather it is a tribute to a rat named Magawa. Born in Tanzania, he spent six years in Cambodia, long enough to become a hero there.

Magawa was trained to detect unexploded mines. Following decades of conflict Cambodia’s countryside is blighted by landmines and unexploded ordnance. Sweeping the ground with a metal detector, it can take a person up to four days to clear an area the size of a tennis court. Any misstep can be fatal.

It’s easier for rats. They weigh 1-1.5kg and scamper safely across mined ground. Their sense of smell allows APOPO, a Belgian NGO, to train them to sniff out explosives even after decades of burial. Since APOPO first deployed its “HeroRATS” in Cambodia in 2015, they have cleared 40 square kilometres of land and located over 8,000 landmines.

Magawa, however, was the star. Over six years he detected more than 100 landmines, clearing the equivalent of 20 football pitches. He died peacefully in 2022 as the only rat ever awarded the PDSA Gold Medal, a prize for animal bravery. “He changed the ground beneath our feet,” said Ly Thuch, a senior minister, at the unveiling ceremony. The 2.2-metre statue of Magawa is believed to be the first public monument in the world dedicated to a life-saving rodent.

But the tribute is also a call to action. For all the progress HeroRATS have made, some 4m-6m mines remain buried in Cambodia, concentrated in some of the country’s poorest regions, where their presence stifles farming, deters investment and exacts a human toll. Since 1979 landmines have killed or injured 65,000 people. APOPO warns that “funding for clearance operations is dwindling.” Time for humans to step up. ■