Magawa wearing his gold medal for bravery
This story should be made into a movie.How often do you hear about rats saving human lives? I've got a good one for you today.
Meet Magawa, an African giant pouched rat who sniffed out landmines in Cambodia for five years.
His handlers have retired him because the average lifespan for his species is 6-8 years and they want him to enjoy the fruits of his labor.
The heroic rat helped clear more than 2.4 million square feet of land and saved an unknown number of people from injury or possible death.
Magawa - whose name means courage - is the most successful graduate of a program funded by a Belgian nonprofit group teaching rats to detect land mines for more than 20 years.
The rats, which have a strong sense of smell, can detect the chemical compounds found inside explosives.
They're trained - by an organization named APOPO - through a process using bananas and other food rewards in exchange for successfully completing a task.
The rat's super power is being faster than a human with a metal detector. They're also too light to set off a landmine (it takes an average of 11 pounds. The rats only weigh 3 pounds). When they stop and scratch the ground, it's time to start digging.
Oh, by the way. They're always right!
During Magawa's service to his country, he found 71 land mines and 38 items of unexploded ordnance.
Last September Magawa was awarded a gold medal for bravery from the British charity PDSA, an honor that had previously only gone to dogs.
So what do you think?
Would Magawa's story make a good animated movie?
Quick note - I was a combat engineer in Vietnam in 1970. My primary job was minesweeping. I sure could have used Magawa's help!!
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