DAVID ADAMS looks at the odder side of life…
• A rat has been awarded a gold medal for its work in finding landmines. Magawa, an African giant pouched rat, was awarded the PDSA Gold Medal by the UK veterinary charity for “life-saving devotion to duty, in the location and clearance of deadly landmines in Cambodia” where there are believed to be up to six million landmines still in the country. Magawa, whose official title is HeroRAT, underwent nine months of training with Tanzanian charity APOPO before being sent to work and, at the time of the award, had detected 39 landmines and 28 items of unexploded ordnance and helped clear more than 141,000 square metres of land. Magawa is the first rat to receive the PDSA’s Gold Medal, described as the animal equivalent of the UK award, the George Cross.
• Smiling dogs, startled cats, a goat lounging in a hammock and a laughing horse are among finalists in the Mars Petcare Comedy Pet Photography Awards. More than 2,000 entries from 81 countries were reportedly received in the awards, now in their second year, from which 40 finalists have been selected. Entry fees for the awards, which aim to raise awareness about homeless pets, are donated to Blue Cross. The winner, who will be announced in late November, will collect £3,000.
• A wax sculpture of an older man and his grand-daughter has been left outside a Florida city hall to melt in a bid to raise awareness of climate change. Part of a campaign called ‘Melting Florida’, the sculpture was reportedly installed outside the Orlando City Hall by the CLEO Institute, a Florida-based non-profit which focuses on climate science education. The campaign has previously installed wax sculptures depicting a Florida panther and her cub in Tampa and a lifeguard house in Miami Beach.
