PHNOM PENH: Cambodia’s land mine-sniffing rat Magawa, who found more than 100 land mines 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.
Magawa, who died over the weekend, was the most successful “HeroRAT” deployed by international charity APOPO, which uses African giant pouched rats to detect land mines and tuberculosis.
“Magawa was in good health and spent most of last week playing with his usual enthusiasm, but toward the weekend he started to slow down, napping more and showing less interest in food in his last days,” the non-profit organization said in a statement.
Scarred by decades of civil war, Cambodia is one of the world’s most heavily land mined countries, with more than 1,000 sq km (386 sq miles) of land still contaminated.
It has among the highest number of amputees per capita, with more than 40,000 people having lost limbs to explosives.
Illustrating the extreme risks involved, three Cambodians working to clear mines died on Monday in Preah Vihear province, bordering Thailand.
The three from the Cambodia Self-Help Demining group were killed by blasts from anti-tank mines, which also wounded two others, said Heng Ratana, director-general of the Cambodian Mine Action Center.
APOPO said Magawa’s contribution allowed communities in Cambodia to live, work, and play more safely.
“Every discovery he made reduced the risk of injury or death for the people of Cambodia,” APOPO said.
The African giant pouched rat even received a gold medal in 2020 from Britain’s People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals for “lifesaving bravery and devotion to duty.”
Magawa, who retired in June 2021, was born in Tanzania and moved to Siem Reap in Cambodia in 2016 to begin clearing mines.
“A hero is laid to rest,” APOPO said.
Cambodia’s land mine-sniffing ‘hero’ rat Magawa dies in retirement
https://arab.news/rpprm
Cambodia’s land mine-sniffing ‘hero’ rat Magawa dies in retirement
- It has among the highest number of amputees per capita, with more than 40,000 people having lost limbs to explosives
- The African giant pouched rat even received a gold medal in 2020 from Britain’s People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals for “lifesaving bravery and devotion to duty”
Trunk snapped off famed Bernini statue in Rome square
ROME, Feb 18 (Reuters) - A marble elephant designed by Baroque master Gian Lorenzo Bernini has been damaged, with its left tusk found snapped off and lying at the base of the monument in the heart of Rome, authorities said.
The damage was uncovered on Monday night and police said they would review video footage from Piazza della Minerva to determine whether the tusk was vandalised or simply fell off following weeks of unusually heavy rains.
Italy's Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli made clear he thought it was deliberate, saying the 17th statue, which supports an ancient Egyptian obelisk, was victim of an "absurd act of barbarity".
"It is unacceptable that once again the nation's artistic and cultural heritage must suffer such serious damage," he said in a statement.
It is not the first time the sculpture, popularly known as the Elefantino (little elephant), has been damaged.
In November 2016, the tip of the same tusk was similarly found broken off. The piece was reattached during restoration work.
The sculpture, created in 1667 by Ercole Ferrata based on a design by Bernini, stands a short distance from the Pantheon, one of most visited tourist sites in Rome. (Reporting by Francesca Piscioneri, editing by Crispian Balmer)
