Demining rat in Cambodia gets gold medal for work

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA (WITN) - A rat in Cambodia has been awarded a gold medal for discovering mines.

The giant African pouched rat, called Magawa was honored for spotting 39 landmines and 28 items of unexploded ordnance since receiving training by a local charity.

The medal was awarded for his “lifesaving bravery and devotion to duty.” The charity Anti-personnel Landmines Detection Product Development (APOPO) trains rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis.

Magawa is the first rat in the charity’s 77-year history to be presented with a PDSA gold medal.

Some four to six million landmines were laid in Cambodia between 1975 and 1998, causing 64,000 deaths.