Rat named Ronin breaks world record for sniffing out wartime landmines in Cambodia

An African giant pouched rat is being honored in the record books after detecting more than 100 landmines and other undetonated explosives in Cambodia, Belgian non-profit APOPO announced Friday. 

The rat, named Ronin, was named APOPO’s most successful Mine Detection Rat. He also was acknowledged by the Guinness World Records. 

Since August 2021, Ronin has detected 109 landmines and 15 items of unexploded ordnance, APOPO said. The record-smashing rodent is expected to do another two years or more of detection work, the non-profit said.

“Ronin’s achievements are a testament to the incredible potential of positive reinforcement training. He’s not just an asset; he’s a valued partner and colleague,” said Phanny, Ronin’s handler, in a news release from APOPO. 

The previous record was held by the African giant pouched rat Magawa, who detected 71 landmines and 38 pieces of unexploded ordnance over the course of five years. 

APOPO has been training mine-detecting rats for over 25 years. Ronin underwent clicker training, where the rat learns to associate the sound of a click with a treat, to motivate him to learn how to smell explosives. He was also trained to work systemically within a grid pattern and to indicate landmines by scratching at the ground. Ronin and rats like him work for about 30 minutes a day, APOPO said. When they reach a certain age, they are moved to a retirement community and remain under APOPO’s care. Magawa, the previous record-holder, was retired in 2021 and died in 2022.

Undetonated landmines and ordnance are a huge problem in Cambodia. Decades of conflict have left up to six million unexploded munitions in the country’s soil, according to the Landmine Monitor’s 2024 report. Since 1979, those buried bombs have caused about 20,000 deaths and 45,000 injuries, the Landmine Monitor reported. Demining efforts have been underway for decades, including the work done by Ronin and other APOPO rats. In 2023, there were only 32 reported casualties involving landmines in Cambodia, according to the Landmine Monitor. The site does not distinguish between injuries and deaths when referring to casualties. 

The APOPO’s efforts are not limited to Cambodia. The non-profit estimates that about 110 million landmines are buried across 60 countries. In 2023, 1,431 deaths were connected to these landmines. The agency said it continues to work to remove landmines and unexploded ordnance from the world. 

“When we launched APOPO, the common view was that it would take around 500 years to clear all landmines from the Earth’s surface,” said Christine Cox, the CEO of APOPO. “25 years later, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and if the international community fully supports the collaboration of all demining operators, we could clear the remaining minefields in our lifetime.”