Magawa, a famous landmine-sniffing rat honored with statue in Cambodia
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A mine-sniffing mouse that won a gold medal for “life-saving devotion to duty” in Cambodia has been honored with a huge stone statue.
Magawa, a mouse who gained fame in the country by sniffing out more than 100 mines (more than 1.5 million square meters) in his five-year career, retired in 2021 and died in 2022, at the age of eight.
Africa’s giant marsupial rat has been trained by Belgian aid agency APOPO to use its keen sense of smell to sniff out landmines and other explosives.
According to BBC News, more than 1 million people in Cambodia live and work in mine-ridden areas.
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Magawa, who died in 2022 after his retirement, was honored with a statue last week. (Reuters/Cindy Liu; Image credit via Carola Frentzen/Getty Images)
In 2020, Magawa received the PDSA Dickin medal of bravery, which recognizes heroism in animals.
It was the first mouse to win this award in the organization’s history dating back to 1943.
Local politicians and APOPO employees unveil a statue of Magawa, a minesweeping mouse, to mark International Mine Awareness Day in Siem Reap, Cambodia, on April 3, 2026. Magawa detected more than 100 mines and unexploded ordnance during his lifetime before his death in 2022. (Carola Frentzen/Image Alliance via Getty Images)
According to Smithsonian magazine, due to its light weight, Magawa could walk safely in areas where landmines were located and could warn officers of the mine by scratching the surface. He would get a treat later.
Magawa, a recently retired mine detection mouse, sits in her cage at the APOPO Visitor Center on June 10, 2021 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. (Cindy Liu/Reuters)
“During his career, Magawa found more than 100 mines and other explosives, making him APOPO’s most successful HeroRAT to date,” the organization said in announcing his death in 2022. “His contribution allows communities in Cambodia to live, work and play without fear of losing their lives or limbs.”
Cambodia has the highest rate of landmine amputees per capita of any country.
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An APOPO employee introduces a minesweeper mouse during the unveiling of the monument to the famous minesweeper mouse Magawa on the occasion of International Mine Awareness Day on April 3, 2026, in Siem Reap, Cambodia. (image alliance via Carola Frentzen/Getty Images)
APOPO added, “Every discovery he made reduced the risk of injury or death to the Cambodian people.”
Magawa, a recently retired mine detection mouse, sits in a tube in her cage at the APOPO Visitor Center on June 10, 2021 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. (Cindy Liu/Reuters)
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The statue was unveiled on April 3 in Siem Reap, Cambodia, just in time for International Mine Awareness Day on April 4.
