HERORATS FOR ADOPTION
Meet Jane
Jane is a young female wildlife detection rat based in Morogoro, Tanzania. Named by Dr. Jane Goodall during her visit to APOPO in July 2024, HeroRAT Jane is training to detect illegally trafficked wildlife products, including pangolin scales, rhino horn, and elephant ivory.
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Meet Baraka
Baraka is a sweet and playful young rat that has recently passed his external accreditation and is working in the minefields in Angola. He was trained under expert handlers in Tanzania at APOPO's Training and Innovation Center.
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Meet Tamasha
Tamasha is a female tuberculosis detection rat based in Morogoro, Tanzania. She can search 100 sputum samples in 20 minutes, much faster than a lab technician. Adopt Tamasha and help us fight TB.
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Meet Ronin
Ronin is a gentle landmine detection rat and loves shoulder rides. On the minefield he is focused and hardworking. Based in Cambodia, Ronin sniffs out deadly explosives faster than conventional solutions.
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NOT READY TO ADOPT? MAKE A DONATION
Help contribute to vital mine clearance and tuberculosis detection. Donate monthly, yearly, or one single time.
GOLD MEDALIST MAGAWA
Magawa is APOPO's most successful HeroRAT. During his illustrious 5 year career, Magawa’s work directly saved the lives of men, women and children who were impacted by hidden landmines and other deadly remnants of war in Cambodia.
In September 2020, veteran Magawa was formally presented with a suitably rat-sized PDSA Gold Medal – the animal equivalent of the George Cross – by the UK's leading vet charity. He is the first rat in the charity’s 77-year history of honoring animals to receive a PDSA Medal – joining a line-up of brave dogs, horses, pigeons and a cat.
With mixed feelings, APOPO announced Magawa's retirement in June 2021. Sadly Magawa passed on peacefully in his sleep in early January 2022.
WHERE YOUR SUPPORT REALLY MAKES A DIFFERENCE
Saving Lives
Landmines and tuberculosis kill. Your support enables people to live, work, and play without fear.
Training Animals
There are over 300 animals under our care. Your support ensures they're treated like the heroes they are.
Social Change
APOPO empowers people and communities. Your support helps create jobs and improves economic and environmental conditions.
WHAT YOU'LL RECEIVE
Welcome Pack
A digital Welcome Pack stacked full of pictures, facts, figures, and quotes that will tell you everything you need to know.
Adoption Certificate
A digital certificate of adoption with your name on it.
Monthly Impact Updates
Monthly updates direct to your email inbox to keep you up to date with the latest news and information from the field.
The highly developed sense of smell and light weight of our African giant pouched rats, nicknamed ‘HeroRATs’, make them ideal detectors of landmines and tuberculosis.
HERORATS IN ACTION
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HeroRATs detecting landmines
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HeroRATs detecting tuberculosis
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HeroRATs in research & development
HOW THEY SPEED UP LANDMINE DETECTION
HeroRATs sniff out the chemical compounds of TNT (explosive) found in landmines and other explosive remnants of war. They ignore scrap metal making them much faster at detecting landmines than metal detectors.
HOW THEY HELP TO DETECT TUBERCULOSIS
The APOPO tuberculosis detection rats check TB samples collected from local clinics. Any samples they indicate as suspect are reconfirmed in APOPO's lab using WHO-endorsed methods. Our research program shows that the rats can increase detection rates of partner clinics by 40%.
HERODOGS FOR ADOPTION
Meet Kim
Kim is a determined and diligent dog deployed in Preah Vihear, Cambodia. He is renowned for his unwavering tenacity, sharp focus, and steadfast loyalty during fieldwork.
Meet Khai
Khai, also known as Khaeshad, is a Belgian Shepherd with a nose for landmines and unexploded remnants of war. He’s always happy and playful and enjoys lazing in the sun after a hard day’s work.
WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ADOPTIONS?
The quickest way to find the answer to your question is to take take a look at our FAQ pages under the HeroRATs or HeroDOGs tab.
If you still need help, send us an email!
