Magawa the rat had a more exciting working life than many. Now she is finally retiring, she has “gotten tired”.
Munich – Many people long for retirement after a hard working life. Finally retire, put your feet up and relax. What the rat Magawa will do now is not known. But the animal * is also ending its career – it saved many people’s lives. Magawa was even awarded a medal for work.
Magawa is a landmine detection rate. The Gambian hamster rat, originally from Tanzania, had helped clear a 225,000 square meter area of mines in Cambodia during its five-year career as a sniffer, as the Belgian aid organization Apopo announced on Saturday. Nine months ago she was awarded the highest British animal order for bravery.
Pensioner rat Magawa is said to have “got tired”.
Apopo program director in Cambodia, Michael Heiman, told AFP news agency that Magawa was “getting tired”. And who will blame the animal? A total of 71 land mines and 38 unexploded explosive devices have been detected by Magawa. Preventive life saving was the job.
And not only that. The rodent trained by the Belgian organization is the most successful rat because of the hit rate. And what is the big advantage of sniffer rats? The speed and the weight. As the AFP further writes, the rat can search an area the size of a tennis court for mines within half an hour. With a metal detector, this would take four days. Magawa itself is too light to trigger a mine.
Retired rat Magawa: how does the rodent mark an explosive device?
Food hazard surcharge! The rat scratches the ground with its paws to mark the mine for the defusers. The reward for the tricky job is bananas and peanuts. As the AFP writes, he will continue to receive his favorite foods as a pensioner.
Last September, Magawa was awarded the gold medal of the British non-profit animal organization PDSA for his exceptional service – the equivalent of the British George’s Cross for human heroes.
Apopo employs dozens of these clever rodents in Africa and Asia to search for landmines and to sniff out tuberculosis. According to the organization, 20 newly trained landmine sniffer rats recently arrived in Cambodia. It will be a great challenge for them to succeed Magawa’s successor. “He’s a very special rat,” said Heiman. “Of course we will miss him on the missions.” (ank) * tz.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
