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Magawa is an African Giant Pouched Rat. He was used in the mine-clearing
because rats are the creatures best suited to
detect landmines. They are light and have a
sense of smell. In his seven-year stint on the front
, Magawa helped to detect 39 landmines and 28 unexploded
. He helped to clear more than 141,000 square meters of
- an area roughly the size of 20 soccer
. This makes him the most successful rodent in the
of landmine detection. The charity's chairman said: "This is the very first time in our 77-year history of honouring animals that we have presented a
to a rat." Reporters tried to interview Magawa but he was unavailable for
.
