On the eve of 2026 International Day for Mine Awareness, a historic ceremony in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province revealed a one-of-a-kind tribute: the world’s first statue honoring a landmine-detecting rodent, Magawa, the extraordinary African giant pouched rat whose life-saving work made large swathes of the Southeast Asian nation safer.
Over his five years active service, Magawa’s sharp nose helped locate more than 100 buried landmines across an area of contaminated land spanning more than 141,000 square meters, a plot roughly equal to 20 soccer fields. Trained by APOPO, the Belgian non-profit organization that develops detection animals for humanitarian mine clearance, Magawa leveraged unique biological advantages that set him apart from human-led demining teams. His small, light frame never weighed enough to trigger the sensitive explosives he sniffed out, allowing him to cross dangerous minefields without risk, and he could clear an area the size of a tennis court in just 20 minutes, a task that would take a human deminer many hours to complete.
Magawa’s groundbreaking contributions earned him a spot in humanitarian history in 2020, when he became the first rat ever awarded the PDSA Gold Medal, the prestigious honor recognizing animal bravery and devotion to duty in saving human lives. After a career marked by consistent, life-saving work, Magawa retired from active duty in 2021 and passed away in 2022 at the age of 8, an advanced lifespan for his species.
Today, as Cambodia works toward its national goal of eliminating all landmines from its territory by 2030, Magawa’s legacy continues. A new generation of APOPO-trained HeroRATS continues his mission, clearing contaminated land to allow communities to return to farming, building homes, and using land that has been off-limits for decades. This new permanent statue ensures that Magawa’s extraordinary contribution will not be forgotten, standing as a reminder that the most impactful heroes often come in the most unexpected packages.