Landmine Detecting Rats

Cambodia's landmine-sniffing rat Magawa, who found more than 100 landmines and explosives during a five-year career, has died at the age of 8, leaving a lasting legacy of saved lives in the Southeast Asian nation.

Since 1997, a non-profit organisation headquartered in Tanzania has been training African giant pouched rats to detect two things: landmines and tuberculosis. These trained rats are nicknamed 'HeroRats'.

Africa's giant rats have been trained to sniff out landmines and detect tuberculosis in humans, and soon they could turn their superior noses to protecting other animals by finding illegal wildlife trophies being smuggled out of African ports.

Cambodia is training an elite squad of rats, imported from Africa, to sniff out landmines and other unexploded ordnance in the once war-wracked kingdom, authorities said on Friday.

Cambodia's landmine-sniffing rat Magawa, who found more than 100 landmines and explosives during a five-year career, has died at the age of 8, leaving a lasting legacy of saved lives in the Southeast Asian nation.

Since 1997, a non-profit organisation headquartered in Tanzania has been training African giant pouched rats to detect two things: landmines and tuberculosis. These trained rats are nicknamed 'HeroRats'.

Africa's giant rats have been trained to sniff out landmines and detect tuberculosis in humans, and soon they could turn their superior noses to protecting other animals by finding illegal wildlife trophies being smuggled out of African ports.

Cambodia is training an elite squad of rats, imported from Africa, to sniff out landmines and other unexploded ordnance in the once war-wracked kingdom, authorities said on Friday.