Heroic Landmine Detection Rat Honoured With Statue In Cambodia

By Danial Martinus • 28 Apr 2026 in News

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(source: TBWA/Singapore, Provided to JUICE)

Magawa, an African giant pouched rat, has been honoured with a statue after its tireless years of work detecting countless landmines in the fields of Cambodia.

Trained to detect explosives left behind by war, Magawa has helped clear more than 141,000 square metres of contaminated land, which is roughly the size of 20 football pitches.

Drastically shortening landmine clearing

He’s one of many rats trained by Belgian non-profit APOPO, which specialises in deploying what they call HeroRATs to clear areas that have been made dangerous by the presence of unearthed landmines and other explosives.

Magawa is known for his speed, being able to cover an area the size of a tennis court in just 30 minutes. A human with a metal detector would’ve taken up to four days to clear the same area.

When he retired in 2022, Magawa became the only rat in history to be awarded a Guinness World Record and a PDSA Gold Medal (the highest honour for animal bravery).

But why are rats like Magawa so essential, despite the war in Cambodia ending decades ago? The biggest problem is the fact that millions of landmines remain buried in the country.

According to the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), as many as 4 to 6 million mines and other unexploded ordnances still pose a real threat to Cambodians. And when landmine accidents (causing serious injury or death) become a regular occurence in the news, you know it’s a big problem.

The monument honouring Magawa was carved from local stones by artisans from Satcha Handicraft Centre and depicts the rat standing on his hind legs.