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A [[Tanzanian]] social enterprise founded by two Belgians, [[APOPO]], trains Gambian pouched rats to detect [[land mine]]s and [[tuberculosis]] with their highly developed sense of smell. The trained pouched rats are called [[HeroRATS]]. The rats are far cheaper to train than mine-detecting dogs; a rat requires $7,300 for nine months of training, whereas a dog costs about $25,000 for training.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Tuberculosis detection by giant African pouched rats |year=2011 |publisher=U.S. National Institutes of Health |pmc=3089413 |last1=Poling |first1=A. |last2=Weetjens |first2=B. |last3=Cox |first3=C. |last4=Beyene |first4=N. |last5=Durgin |first5=A. |last6=Mahoney |first6=A. |journal=The Behavior Analyst |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=47–54 |doi=10.1007/BF03392234 |pmid=22532730 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Giant rats trained to sniff out tuberculosis in Africa |website=National Geographic |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/giant-rats-trained-sniff-out-tuberculosis-africa/ }}</ref>
In 2020, a Hero Rat named [[Magawa]] (20142013-2022)<ref name="Magawa-obit">{{cite web | title=Magawa, the landmine-sniffing hero rat, dies aged eight | website=[[BBC News]] | date=2022-01-11 | url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59951255 | access-date=2022-01-11}}</ref> received a PDSA Gold Medal, the animal equivalent of the George Cross, becoming the first rat to receive the award since the charity began honouring animals 77 years ago. Before retiring in 2021, Magawa detected 71 landmines and 38 items of unexploded ordnance, clearing over 2,421,880 sq ft (225,000 m<sup>2</sup>) of land in Cambodia, preventing many injuries and deaths, in his 5-year career.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Magawa, a landmine-detecting rat, is retiring after five years of life-saving work in Cambodia|url=https://news.sky.com/story/landmine-detecting-rat-magawa-retiring-after-five-years-of-life-saving-work-in-cambodia-12325349|access-date=2021-06-05|website=Sky News|language=en}} </ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Meet the gold medal-winning rodent |lang=en-GB |website=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-54294192 |access-date=2021-01-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Ng |first=Kate |date=25 September 2020 |title=Cambodia landmine detection rat awarded miniature gold medal for 'lifesaving bravery' |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/landmine-detection-rat-magma-cambodia-award-charity-b575565.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126014426/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/landmine-detection-rat-magma-cambodia-award-charity-b575565.html |archive-date=November 26, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title='Hero rat' Magawa retires from Cambodian bomb sniffing career |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/5/hero-rat-magawa-retires-from-cambodian-bomb-sniffing-career |agency=Al Jazeera |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=June 5, 2021}}</ref> Magawa died from natural causes at the age of 8 in 2022.<ref name="Magawa-obit" />
== References ==<!-- BelgJZool135:11. -->
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