Magawa, a landmine-detecting rat, is retiring after five years of life-saving work in Cambodia |

We all want to wind down when we reach retirement age – and it’s no different for landmine-sniffing rodent Magawa.

After five years of hard work, the African giant pouched rat, known as a “hero rat”, is finishing work on a high following a stellar career in Cambodia.

Magawa is the most successful rodent overseen by the Belgian charity APOPO, an organisation that trains rats to save lives by alerting human handlers to landmines and unexploded bombs so they can safely be removed.