Landmines, a lingering threat from past conflicts, continue to pose a danger to both active soldiers and civilians long after the fighting stops. With millions of these explosive devices buried across the globe, efforts to safely remove them have increasingly relied on a novel tool: rats. One such rat, based in Cambodia, has now achieved an extraordinary milestone, becoming the most successful mine-detecting rat in history.
Introducing Ronin, an African giant pouched rat who has detected 109 landmines and 15 items of unexploded ordnance (UXO) since his training began in 2021. According to both APOPO, the charity responsible for Ronin’s training, and the Guinness World Records, the rat has now set a new record for the most mines detected by a rodent. Ronin is currently deployed in Preah Vihear Province, Cambodia, one of the most heavily mined countries in the world.
The Guinness World Records officially recognized Ronin’s achievement on April 4, coinciding with International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, as well as World Rat Day—a day dedicated to honoring these incredible animals. Ronin’s record spans the period between August 2021 and February 2025, and his work is part of a broader effort involving dozens of specially trained rodents used in global demining operations.
In a statement, Guinness noted that Ronin’s work is making a “tangible difference” in regions plagued by landmines, where daily life is often overshadowed by the constant fear of stepping on a hidden explosive.
Rats like Ronin are trained to detect the chemicals used in explosives, allowing them to work faster and more efficiently than humans with metal detectors. Unlike metal detectors, which can be confused by non-threatening pieces of metal, Ronin’s heightened sense of smell helps him focus on the specific chemical compounds found in explosives. Additionally, rats are trained to search in a grid system, and their small size enables them to safely locate landmines without triggering them. Ronin, along with his fellow rats, works just 30 minutes each day.
Cambodia remains one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, with an estimated 4 to 6 million landmines buried across the nation from conflicts spanning the 1960s to the 1990s. Despite years of demining efforts, millions of these deadly devices still pose a constant threat, causing ongoing injuries and fatalities.
Ronin’s achievement surpasses that of the previous record holder, Magawa, another African giant pouched rat who detected 71 landmines and 38 UXO over his five-year career in Cambodia. Magawa’s heroic work earned him a gold medal from a veterinary charity in 2020, but he passed away in 2022 at the age of eight.
With Ronin’s new record, the legacy of mine-detecting rats continues to grow, offering hope to millions living in the shadow of unexploded ordnance.
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