Video Landmine-sniffing rat honored with massive statue
A statue in Cambodia was erected to honor Magawa, a decorated rat renowned for detecting over 1.5 million square feet of landmines during his five-year tenure. (Reuters)
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A rodent skilled at detecting landmines, who received a gold medal for “life-saving devotion to duty” in Cambodia, has been commemorated with a large stone monument.
Magawa, a rat who became well-known in the nation for uncovering more than 100 mines (spanning over 1.5 million square feet) throughout his five-year service — surpassing any other rat in the country — retired in 2021 and passed away at the age of 8 in 2022.
The African giant pouched rat was educated by the Belgian non-profit APOPO to utilize its acute sense of smell to identify landmines and other explosive devices.
According to BBC News, over one million individuals in Cambodia reside and labor in areas still contaminated with landmines.
Magawa, who passed away in 2022 following his retirement, was recently honored with a statue. (Reuters/Cindy Liu; Carola Frentzen/picture alliance via Getty Images)
In 2020, Magawa was presented with the PDSA Dickin medal for gallantry, an award that acknowledges bravery in animals.
He was the inaugural rat in the organization’s history, dating back to 1943, to achieve this recognition.
Local dignitaries and APOPO personnel inaugurated a statue of Magawa, the mine-clearing rat, in Siem Reap, Cambodia, on April 3, 2026, to observe International Mine Awareness Day. Magawa located over 100 landmines and unexploded ordnance during his life before his demise in 2022. (Carola Frentzen/Picture Alliance via Getty Images)
Magawa could safely traverse areas containing landmines due to his minimal weight and would signal a mine’s presence to his handlers by scratching the ground, as reported by Smithsonian magazine. He was subsequently rewarded with a treat.
Magawa, a recently retired mine detection rat, is pictured inside its enclosure at the APOPO Visitor Center in Siem Reap, Cambodia, on June 10, 2021. (Cindy Liu/Reuters)
“Throughout his service, Magawa discovered more than 100 landmines and other explosives, establishing him as APOPO’s most accomplished HeroRAT to date,” the organization stated in 2022, upon announcing his passing. “His work enabled Cambodian communities to live, work, and play without the threat of life-altering injuries.”
Cambodia has the highest prevalence of landmine amputees per capita globally.
An APOPO employee displays a minesweeper rat in Siem Reap, Cambodia, during the inauguration of a monument dedicated to Magawa, the celebrated mine-clearing rat, on April 3, 2026, commemorating International Mine Awareness Day. (Carola Frentzen/picture alliance via Getty Images)
APOPO further commented, “Each detection he made lessened the danger of harm or fatality for the people of Cambodia.”
Magawa, a recently retired landmine detection rat, is shown within a tube inside its enclosure at the APOPO Visitor Center in Siem Reap, Cambodia, on June 10, 2021. (Cindy Liu/Reuters)
The monument was unveiled in Siem Reap, Cambodia, on April 3, shortly before the International Day for Mine Awareness on April 4.