Ronin the rat sets new landmine-sniffing record

Ronin, a giant African pouched rat, is the first rodent to uncover more than 100 mines in Cambodia.

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Ronin, an African giant pouched rat, has uncovered 109 landmines and 15 items of unexploded ordnance since 2021, charity Apopo, which trains the animals, said in a statement.

Cambodia remains littered with millions of unexploded munitions following about 20 years of civil war that ended in 1998.

The Guinness Book of World Records said that Ronin's "crucial work" is making a real difference to people who have had to live with the "fear that one misstep while going about their day-to-day lives could be their last."

Apopo, which is based in Tanzania, currently has 104 rodent recruits, or HeroRATS, as the non-profit likes to call them.