A rat that spent years sniffing out hidden explosives in Cambodia now has a statue to match his record.
Officials on April 3 unveiled a 2.1 metre statue of Magawa, an African giant pouched rat that found more than 100 undetonated explosives during his lifetime. The monument in Siem Reap was revealed ahead of the International Day for Mine Awareness on April 4, with government officials and survivors of land mine explosions attending the ceremony.
Magawa was trained by APOPO, a Belgian organization that teaches animals to detect land mines and diseases like tuberculosis. He was sent to Cambodia in 2016, when he was about two years old, to help identify chemicals in unexploded ordnances and alert handlers to their location.
Giant pouched rats have a strong sense of smell, and Magawa put it to unusual use. Because of his light weight, he could move across ground that could be dangerous for people. He was also quick, capable of searching an area about the size of a tennis court in 20 minutes. When he detected a mine, he scratched at the surface and was rewarded, often with a peanut or a slice of banana.
Over a five-year career, Magawa cleared more than 1.5 million square feet of land mines and other explosives. APOPO said that made him one of the most successful bomb-sniffing rats in the organization’s history.
Cambodia has spent decades dealing with explosives left behind by a series of conflicts that began with the Vietnam War in the 1960s and continued for several decades. According to APOPO, the country has the highest rate of mine amputees per capita, with more than 40,000 people losing limbs to the bombs.
Removing those explosives has been a large international effort. Earlier this year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said more than 1,300 square miles of explosive remnants of war had been cleared since 1992. Trained animals, including rats like Magawa, have been a key part of that work.
“His contribution allows communities in Cambodia to live, work, and play; without fear of losing life or limb,” APOPO said in a statement announcing Magawa’s death in 2022.
Magawa’s work also brought him international recognition. In 2020, he became the first rat to receive a gold medal for bravery from the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals, or PDSA.
He retired in 2021 for age-related reasons and died about a year later at age 8. In his later years, he helped train other rats to detect ordnance by example.
The new monument reflects that legacy. Carved from stone by Cambodian artists, the statue shows Magawa standing upright and wearing his gold medal.
APOPO program manager Michael Raine praised the rat’s work in comments to the Washington Post.
“Magawa was one of the best rats we’ve ever had,” Raine said. “He was curious, very composed and quick at work. He knew his job.”
Magawa is gone, but the work he was part of is still going on. Raine said Cambodia aims to be completely land mine-free by 2030.
Other animals also do similar work in former and active conflict zones. The source text notes that people train dogs to help detect land mines, and canine bomb detectives are working in Ukraine.
A new rat is already following Magawa’s example. Ronin set a Guinness World Record in 2025 for the most land mines detected by a rat in a lifetime.
