Cambodia has erected a statue and awarded a medal to honor a rat that uncovered scores of landmines left over from warfare in the 1960s and ’70s, multiple news outlets report.
A 7-foot-tall sandstone statue of Magawa, an African giant pouched rat, was unveiled Friday in the town of Siem Reap on the eve of International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, the Asia News Network reports.
Magawa, which died in 2022, was also awarded a gold medal from the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals, a British veterinary charity.
From 2016 to 2022, Magawa scoured 56 acres of land in Cambodia, sniffing out more than 70 landmines and nearly 40 unexploded bombs from U.S. airstrikes and the Khmer Rouge. The Southeast Asian country is still dealing with millions of leftover ordnance from those conflicts, CBS News reports.
African giant pouched rats are used to detect landmines because their bodies are light enough to walk over one without setting it off. They are larger than common rats, measuring up to 3 feet long and weighing as much as 9 pounds.
Their sense of smell can detect explosives, as well as tuberculosis.
• Juliet La Sala can be reached at jlasala@washingtontimes.com.
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