The rat weighs about as much as a small cat, works for banana, and can search an area the size of a tennis court in roughly half an hour. A human with a metal detector can take up to four days to cover the same ground. That is the pitch behind APOPO, a charity founded in 1997 that trains African giant pouched rats to find landmines by scent.
The rats are trained from a young age with clicker training and food rewards to recognize the smell of explosive chemicals. In the field they work early in the morning, attached to a line, moving in a grid, and scratch at the ground when they find something. Their bodies are too light to set off a buried mine.
Magawa’s medal, a first for the hero rats
In September 2020, a rat named Magawa became the first of his species to receive the PDSA Gold Medal, a British award for animal bravery. At the time, the charity credited him with 39 landmines and 28 items of unexploded ordnance. By the time APOPO announced his retirement in June 2021, at age seven, his career total had reached 71 landmines and 38 pieces of ordnance across more than 225,000 square meters of land.
“He is small but he has helped save many lives,” said Malen, his handler, at his retirement. “But he is slowing down, and we need to respect his needs. I will miss working with him!”
Magawa died in January 2022 at age eight. He had been born and trained at APOPO’s center at Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania and moved to Siem Reap in 2016.
Ronin’s record among landmine-detecting rats
The work did not stop. In April 2025, APOPO announced that a rat named Ronin, deployed to Preah Vihear Province in August 2021, had been recognized by Guinness World Records for the most landmines detected by a rat: 109 mines and 15 items of unexploded ordnance, well past Magawa’s totals. Ronin was five at the time, and APOPO said he could have two or more years of work ahead of him.
“He’s not just an asset; he’s a valued partner and colleague,” said Phanny, his handler.
Guinness reported that APOPO had 104 rats deployed at the time of the announcement. “When we launched APOPO, the common view was that it would take around 500 years to clear all landmines from the Earth’s surface,” said Christophe Cox, the charity’s chief executive. “25 years later, there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
Sources
- PDSA, Magawa PDSA Gold Medal
- APOPO, PDSA Gold Medalist Magawa Retiring (June 2021)
- APOPO, In Loving Memory of Magawa
- APOPO, HeroRAT Ronin Breaks Guinness World Records Title (April 2025)
- Guinness World Records, Meet the record-breaking rat (April 2025)
