Rat Ronin sets world record for number of landmines found
7 April 2025 19:38
The African giant marsupial rat, or Cricetomys gambiae, has set a new world record for the number of landmines it has discovered. Ronin the rat found 109 anti-personnel mines and 15 other munitions in Cambodia between August 2021 and February 2025.
He was included in the Guinness Book of Records, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
Rats do not have the best reputation in the world and are not on the list of most people’s favorite animals, but the Belgian non-profit organization APOPO has been working to improve their image for more than 25 years.
Teams of rats bred by APOPO sniff out chemicals in abandoned mines and explosives left behind after wars. Mines are a serious problem because people can step on them and die. Rats are too light to activate the mines, so they find them safely and literally save people’s lives.
Ronin is one of more than 100 rats trained by APOPO. He was born in Tanzania. He is now 5 years old and weighs over a kilogram.
The Cambodian province of Preah Vihear, where Ronin works, is one of the most heavily mined areas in the world after decades of conflict in the twentieth century, including heavy U.S. bombing during the Vietnam War
