Giant rat wins animal hero award for sniffing out landmines
 

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A rat has for the first time won a British charity’s top civilian award for animal bravery, receiving the honor for searching out unexploded landmines in Cambodia.

Magawa, a giant African pouched rat, was awarded the PDSA’s Gold Medal for his “lifesaving bravery and devotion” after discovering 39 landmines and 28 items of unexploded ordinance in the past seven years, according to the charity.

First known as the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals, PDSA started as a free veterinary clinic in 1917 and has heroic animals since 1943.

Magawa was trained by a Belgian organization that has taught rats to find landmines for more than 20 years. The group, APOPO, works with programs in Cambodia, Angola, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to clear millions of mines left behind from wars and conflicts.

Magawa is the group’s most successful rat, having cleared more than 141,000 square meters of land, the equivalent of some 20 soccer fields.

APOPO chief executive Christophe Cox described Magawa’s medal as a huge honor “for our animal trainers.”

“But also it is big for the people in Cambodia, and all the people around the world who are suffering from landmines,” Cox said. “The PDSA Gold Medal award brings the problem of landmines to global attention.”

More than 60 million people in 59 countries continue to be threatened by landmines and unexploded ordinance, according to APOPO. In 2018, landmines and other remnants of war killed or injured 6,897 people, the group says.

While many rodents can be trained to detect scents and will work at repetitive tasks for food rewards, APOPO decided that giant African pouched rats were best suited to landmine clearance because of their African origins and lifespan of up to eight years.

Their size allows the rats to walk across mine fields without triggering the explosives - and do it much more quickly than people.

The PDSA’s Gold Medal has been awarded since 2002 to recognize bravery and acts of exceptional devotion by animals in civilian service. It is considered the animal equivalent of the George Cross, a decoration for heroism.

Before Magawa, all the recipients were dogs.

PDSA also awards the Dickin Medal for military service. The medal has been awarded to 34 dogs, 32 pigeons, four horses and one cat since it was created in 1943.

https://apnews.com/article/rats-anim...be6c0b99d84417

:clap1:

congratulations LT :love:

The new princess Diana. The peoples rat, the rat of hearts.

Yes amazing a Rat can help.

He's a handsome brute, and so clever

:oh:

It’s a fabulous thing it does but it can’t be regarded as ‘brave’ because it’s not aware of any danger/s .





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just saw him on the news, brilliant

he got an extra piece of ripe banana his favourite treat as well as his medal

All these awards are daft...it's a rat. It has no need for a medal, give the trainers the medal. If it wasn't for them this thing would just be sat there peeing and pooing in a box.

Looks like pontyboi

...:lovedup:...cong-rat-ulations...rat powers have always been under-rat-ed, I feel...so it’s nice to see the recognition happening now...

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...Magawa on the job...

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...he doesn’t really have a choice but to put his life at such risk...but it’s nice to see that recognition because of that...

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I’m stressed out what if he steps on a land mine and dies

When I say all men are trash I don’t mean him

...he doesn’t mean you either, Cal...

i think the idea behind using a small animal is that they are not heavy enough to set the mines off, else they would use larger animals

He is too light

...I know that dogs are used as well as rats...so it’s not entirely a weight thing, if at all...rats are highly intelligent and can be trained, as can dogs can be, obviously...

...but just going back to Cal’s concerns...it’s true, Cal...but land mines are an horrific part of something that certain areas have and live with as a very real danger and threat...and we don’t ever have to face that in that way...so...it’s difficult, isn’t it... because we just can’t always imagine other lives and threats and dangers etc that are part of lives but not part of our own...

the whole point of land mines is to kill humans, if animals walking over them set them off, there wouldn't be any left to kill the humans, they are weight triggered

...yeah, they’re weight triggered, of course...but that’s apparently not why rats are used...they’re used because of their high intelligence in that they are able to be trained...and obviously certain countries have more of an abundance of rats, so that’s a consideration as well..


...obviously, Magawa has been recognised with his award because he’s a survivor...but there will be many, many animal heroes who won’t survive, so I totally see what Cal’s thoughts are as well...but it’s sadly something which some areas in countries have to do to preserve human life...it’s not something we have to imagine in a very real way, as others do...it’s like when they put these disclaimers on movies etc...’no rat/dog was harmed in the making of...’...?...well sadly...many, many are is the reality...but many human lives will also be saved in that making of...

One less rat being passed off as chicken to the tourists down at Siem Reap