A statue of Magava, the rat who found mines in Cambodia, was erected
A statue was erected in honor of the famous rat Magava, who served for many years in detecting mines in Cambodia. This was reported by Zamin.uz.
According to BBC, Magava lived for eight years and from 2016 to 2021 detected more than a hundred mines in Cambodia and safely neutralized them.
The statue is made of local stone and was unveiled on April 4 — the International Day for Mine Awareness. According to the United Nations, mines still pose a great danger in Cambodia, forcing millions of people to live in hazardous areas.
Magava was a specially trained rat by the organization Apopo, with a keen sense of smell. Through this ability, it indicated to specialists the locations of mines.
The rat inspected an area of 141,000 square meters, equivalent to 20 football fields. In 2020, it was awarded the PDSA Gold Medal, becoming the first rat to receive this honor.
It was reported that Magava died in 2022 due to old age and slowed movements. The manager of Apopo emphasized that the statue serves as a reminder to the international community that there is still work to be done in the fight against mines.
Since 1990, Apopo has been training specially prepared rats called HeroRATS to detect mines. These rats are light and safe, and do not detonate mines.
Additionally, they are actively used in Tanzania to combat the illegal trade of wild animals. Another rat named Ronin has found 109 mines and 15 unexploded ordnances since 2021, setting a new record in 2025.
Such rats play an important role in the fight against mines.
According to BBC, Magava lived for eight years and from 2016 to 2021 detected more than a hundred mines in Cambodia and safely neutralized them.
The statue is made of local stone and was unveiled on April 4 — the International Day for Mine Awareness. According to the United Nations, mines still pose a great danger in Cambodia, forcing millions of people to live in hazardous areas.
Magava was a specially trained rat by the organization Apopo, with a keen sense of smell. Through this ability, it indicated to specialists the locations of mines.
The rat inspected an area of 141,000 square meters, equivalent to 20 football fields. In 2020, it was awarded the PDSA Gold Medal, becoming the first rat to receive this honor.
It was reported that Magava died in 2022 due to old age and slowed movements. The manager of Apopo emphasized that the statue serves as a reminder to the international community that there is still work to be done in the fight against mines.
Since 1990, Apopo has been training specially prepared rats called HeroRATS to detect mines. These rats are light and safe, and do not detonate mines.
Additionally, they are actively used in Tanzania to combat the illegal trade of wild animals. Another rat named Ronin has found 109 mines and 15 unexploded ordnances since 2021, setting a new record in 2025.
Such rats play an important role in the fight against mines.
