This January 2022, a hero is laid to rest. Magawa the landmine-sniffing HeroRAT had been the ripe old age of 8 when he died.
Magawa, an African giant pouched rat, was born November 2013 in a landmine detection rat training and breeding center run by non-profit APOPO in Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania. In 2016, Magawa moved to Siem Reap, Cambodia to pursue a career where he found over 100 landmines, saving the lives of many Cambodians, and became the non-profit's most successful HeroRAT.
After his retirement last year, Magawa led a healthy life until an unexpected drop in energy and loss of appetite in his last days. Magawa may no longer be with us, but his legacy will remain with us until the end of time.
How do you train a rat to detect landmines? In this video below, APOPO tells us that clicker device training started when the rats are 6 weeks old.