The rat, originally from Tanzania, helped remove mines from lands extending over 225,000 square meters, equivalent to the area of 42 football fields, during a 5-year march.
But the Great Rat, was retired last June, after he helped uncover more than 100 landmines and unexploded ordnance.
Abobo, a Belgian NGO, said Magawa died “peacefully” over the weekend, at the age of eight.
“All of us in (Abobo) feel the loss of Magawa and we are grateful for the amazing work he has done,” the organization added, noting that the rat “was in good health and spent most of its time this past weekend playing with its usual activity.”
She added that he began to show signs of fatigue towards the end of the week, “with taking longer rest periods and a decline in appetite.”
The Belgian NGO active in Asia and Africa trained Magawa in his native Tanzania to detect the chemical compound inside the explosives, by giving him delicious rewards including his favorite foods of bananas and peanuts.
The rat alerted the deminers to the presence of the explosive “TNT”, by scribbling on the soil.
Magawa was able to scan an area the size of a tennis court in just 30 minutes, which could take up to four days if a conventional metal detector was used.
In September 2020, Magawa won the gold medal presented by the British Animal Protection Association, which annually rewards animals for their heroic deeds.
With this, Magao became the first rat to receive the BDES Medal in 77 years of awards.
Between 1975 and 1998, between 1975 and 1998, between 4 and 6 million landmines were laid, causing 64,000 casualties, according to BDES.
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