Magawa, a
decorated rat for detecting antipersonnel mines
in Cambodia, died last weekend at the age of 8, reported the Belgian NGO APOPO.
"Magawa was in good health and spent most of her time playing with her usual enthusiasm. As the weekend approached, she
seemed slower and slept more,
showing less interest in food in her last days," he noted this Tuesday in a statement the NGO in charge of their training and care.
Magawa retired last June after five years of work in which
his nose has allowed him to find more than 100 mines and unexploded bombs
in the second country most affected by these types of weapons after Afghanistan.
In his tenure, Magawa cleared a 225,000-square-meter area of explosives in areas of Cambodia affected by bombs and abandoned mines, helping locals regain their activities without fear of death or amputation.
The work of this giant African rat, born in Tanzania in 2013, was recognized in September 2020 by the organization PDSA (acronym for People's Dispensary for Sick Animals), which
rewards animals for their bravery and devotion,
by awarding them a gold medal .
This recognition made her
the first rat to receive such an award
in PDSA's 77-year history and share the glory with numerous dogs, some horses, pigeons and a cat.
APOPO trains rats to
detect the chemicals in explosives
and ignore abandoned metal scraps to find unexploded ordnance much faster.
Cambodia is the second most affected country by landmines in the world after Afghanistan, and it is believed that
up to 6 million
were laid during the armed conflicts that ravaged the country between 1975 and 1998, of which 3 million have not yet been located. .
Antipersonnel mines have caused around
64,000 victims in the country,
which has the highest number of amputees by them per capita in the world: more than 40,000 people for a population of 16 million inhabitants.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more
Asia
Cambodia
Lost CityFishing for the gold and ruby treasures of the 8th century floating Buddhist kingdom
Engine Production continues to fall below 2020 levels
Asia: Two Hong Kong universities remove sculptures on Tiananmen massacre
See links of interest
Last News
Covid
What
Check Christmas Lottery
2022 business calendar
Covid passport
Check Child's Lottery
Barcelona - Milan, live