As a senior citizen from my school days, I have read in various newspapers and later on watched on TV that many stalwarts have received gold medals for their dedication whether for the development of science and technology or any other innovation or other noble activities even for the supreme great sacrifice made by the person. But here I am presenting a case of a special type of Rat named as 'Magawa' who was awarded the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), a veterinary charity in the United Kingdom Gold Medal in September, 2020. This Medal is also described as the George Cross for Animals. He was the first rat awarded with the medal in the charity's 77-year history. Many newspapers including foreign newspapers and also on TV channels highlighted the case of this rat. I am presenting again so that many readers can get an idea about if anyone has missed. The rat, an African breed after its training named as ’Magawa’, has helped to find 39 landmines and 28 unexploded munitions in his lifetime after training in Cambodia. It is pertinent to mention that landmines are explosives. These mines have detonating systems that are triggered by the pressure of any person or bulky animals. There are two types of landmines- a) anti-personnel landmines, aimed at killing or injuring a person (or bulky animals may also die if foot touches), and b) anti-tank mines, designed to destroy or incapacitate vehicles.
The landmines were first used during World War I, but their deployment increased from 1960 onwards. According to Landmine Monitor more than 120,000 people were killed or wounded by the landmines between 1999 and 2017. It is unfortunate to mention that about half of the victims were children. According to the mine-clearing NGO the HALO Trust, Cambodia has recorded more than 64,000 casualties and little more than 25,000 amputees due to landmines since 1979. Most of the landmines were laid during the country's civil war in the 1970s and 1980s. Anyway the special type of rats after imparting training are used to detect a chemical compound within the explosives which means they ignore scrap metal and can search for mines more quickly and thus lakhs of human lives were saved and now also these rats are in job. The rats are certified after training and normally the training period is one year. These specially trained rats detect landmines from 1990. As already mentioned ’Magawa’ was trained by the Belgium-registered charity organisation viz., APOPO, (Anti-Personnel Landmines Removal Product Development), in Tanzania that trains rats like 'Magawa' to find landmines. APOPO has been nurturing the rats - known as 'HeroRATs'.
According to APOPO, Magawa was born and raised in Tanzania. Its weight
after full development was 1.2 kilogram and was 70 centimetres long. So if
Magawa walks over the mine but because of the lightweight mine does not
blow. According to the report 'Magawa' has discovered 39 landmines and 28
items of unexploded ordnance, making him the charity’s most successful
‘HeroRAT’. During his career he has helped to clear more than 141,000 square
metres of land (the equivalent of twenty football grounds). ‘Magawa’ can search
an area of a tennis court(size) in 30 minutes,
which for a person with a metal detector takes a minimum of one day.
These rats, if they survive, can extend service up to five years.
'Magawa' the heroic rat, has retired after sniffing out landmines for five
years by saving the lives of thousands of people mainly in Cambodia (he
is now around seven years old). According to the website,
(pdsa.org.uk/magawa), ‘He’ll spend his time playing and relaxing!’
My great salute to the valiant soul.
References:
1) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-49799292
2) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57345703
4) https://www.pdsa.org.uk/what-we-do/animal-awards-programme/pdsa-gold-medal/magawa
Dr Shankar Chatterjee, Hyderabad Dt. 11 July
2021
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