A mouse gets the Medal of Courage in Cambodia .. The reason is "humanitarian"
"Magawa" uncovered 39 mines and 28 pieces of unexploded ordnance.
From the source
picture
A giant African rat has cleared more than 141,000 square meters of landmines in Cambodia - the equivalent of 20 football fields.
The mouse "Magawa", who had been trained in this work, was awarded a gold medal for his courage in saving human lives and his dedication to his work.
Magawa uncovered 39 landmines and 28 pieces of unexploded ordnance since he was trained on this by the Abobo charitable organization.
This association described him as the most dedicated hero after he had cleared this area of land.
He was officially honored for his work and was awarded the “PDSA” gold medal, which is the equivalent of the George's Cross for animals, and is the first rat in the charity’s 77-year history to receive such a high award.
"It's really an honor for us to be awarded this medal, especially for animal trainers who wake up early in the morning to train these animals," said Christophe Cox, the foundation's CEO.
"But this award is also of great value for the citizens of Cambodia, and for all peoples around the world who suffer from landmines. This award helps attract the world's attention to the problem of landmines," he added.
He says that mice are smart and will do many tasks better than other animals, and are motivated by giving them food rewards.
Because of their small size, they are not exposed to much risk when walking in landmine fields.
Mice are trained to track and discover a chemical compound found inside explosives, and it requires training for a year before it is approved to detect mines.
She works about half an hour a day early in the morning.
Once it detects a landmine, it scratches the top, alerting the team dealing with the mines.
Magawa, who is now approaching retirement age, can search for and discover mines in an area close to the size of a tennis court in just 30 minutes, which could take up to four days for a person using a metal detector.
Cambodia has between 4 million and 6 million landmines that were planted in the country between 1975 and 1998, and caused more than 64,000 casualties.
Cambodia also has the largest number of mine amputees in the world - more than 40,000 people.
Magawa works directly to save and change the lives of the men, women and children affected by these landmines, and every discovery it makes reduces the risk of local people being injured or dying.
Awad Khairy's translation - from The Guardian
Follow our latest local and sports news, and the latest political and economic developments via Google news
:
#Mouse ,
Cambodia,
Mine,
#The Medal of Courage