Magawa.

This is coolbert:

“lifesaving bravery and devotion” 

Magawa the giant Gambian pouched rat. A good news story with a military dimension.

PDSA = People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals.

"Giant rat wins animal hero award for sniffing out landmines"

"LONDON (AP) — A rat has for the first time won a British charity’s top civilian award for animal bravery, receiving the honor for searching out unexploded landmines in Cambodia."

"Magawa, a giant African pouched rat, was awarded the PDSA’s Gold Medal . . . after discovering 39 landmines and 28 items of unexploded ordinance in the past seven years, according to the charity."

"Magawa is the group’s most successful rat, having cleared more than 141,000 square meters of land, the equivalent of some 20 soccer fields."

Unexploded landmines a problem almost without amelioration. Rats trained with keen sense of smell able to detect buried lethal ordnance.

AND THEY WORK FOR PEANUTS. LITERALLY SO!

Good job Magawa. Award well-deserved!

coolbert.