In China, rats are the first of the zodiac. Rodents are a hated species that transmits a variety of diseases in their bodies. In turn, many idioms and proverbs about rodents have been derived. For example: street rats; eyes like rats; dog heads and rat brains; dogs stealing rats; rat eyes; skulls and mouse eyes are mostly poorly described.
The rat we are going to talk about today is very different from everyone's daily impression.
Magawa - the largest of the mice is the "African giant rat". African giant rats can reach a length of up to 91 cm and can live up to 8 years. They prefer to be quiet, and although their eyesight is not too good, their sense of smell is very sensitive, and their intelligence is enough to help them be competent for mine detection. Because giant rats are lightweight, they do not detonate mines.
He sniffed out more than 100 mines and other explosives in Cambodia during his years-long career.
Magawa received the PDSA's Gold Award, the highest honor in the pet world.
In the past, because of the war, there were still hundreds of millions of mines in the world that had not yet been cleared, and every 20 minutes people would die because of the accidental stepping on the mines. These include more than 100,000 children – many of whom have lost limbs or suffered lifelong trauma. Between 1975 and 1998, Cambodia planted 4-6 million landmines, causing more than 64,000 casualties.
In research to check for mines, it was found that mines require sufficient weight of compression to detonate. At this time, people think of african giant rats with a sensitive sense of smell and light weight to help clear mines.
Magawa during the work
Why can Magawa be so smart? What kind of training does it take to do it? This award is basically won by the dog, because it has received professional training from the foundation APOPO.
It keeps sniffing the yellow explosives and then rewarding it for remembering the smell so that when it finds a mine, it keeps scraping the earth with its claws while making a "squeaky" scream. It took 9 months of training to be able to do the dangerous job.
Rewards are given when a mine is found
Magawa retired in June 2021 after his keeper Malen (pictured) said the rodent began to "slow down" as he approached old age. Magawa, 8, "played with enthusiasm" last week but slowed down in her final days.
Next, the death of the hero who saved countless lives was announced on social platforms. The PDSA gold medalist, died last weekend.
Every second is spent with life to clear mines for human beings, and life will be lost at any time. Magawa taught us that no species has its value, and there is no absolute good or bad.
Magawa deserved the gold medal!