He’s two feet long, weighs just over two pounds, and has saved more lives than most people could dream of. His name is Ronin, and he’s not your average rodent—he’s a record-breaker.
Trained to sniff out deadly landmines buried deep beneath the soil, Ronin now holds the Guinness World Record for most explosives detected by a rat. He’s a five-year-old hero, born in Tanzania and deployed in Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province, one of the most dangerous minefields on Earth.
While his size might surprise you—he’s about as long as a housecat—it’s Ronin’s nose that’s truly remarkable. With the help of APOPO, a Belgian nonprofit that trains animals to detect landmines and even tuberculosis, Ronin has spent years carefully scurrying across fields, alerting his human handlers to buried explosives.
The job is dangerous—but not for him. Ronin is light enough that he doesn’t set off the mines he’s helping remove. His agility and sharp sense of smell make him faster and more effective than traditional methods. In fact, he can clear a space the size of a tennis court in under 30 minutes. That same task could take a human deminer four days with a metal detector.
Ronin’s achievement builds on the legacy of another famous rat—Magawa, also trained by APOPO. Magawa identified 71 landmines and 38 pieces of unexploded ordnance during his five-year career. He passed away peacefully in 2022, but his work lives on in Ronin and others like him.
To understand why Ronin’s work matters, it helps to know just how serious the landmine crisis still is.
In Cambodia alone, more than 65,000 people have been killed or injured by landmines since the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979. And despite decades of demining efforts, an estimated 4 to 6 million unexploded mines remain hidden across the country. Much of this stems from a brutal chapter in history, when the U.S. dropped 2.7 million tons of ordnance over the region during the Vietnam War. A large percentage of those bombs never exploded—and are still lying in wait.
Globally, the issue is just as alarming. As of 2023, landmines caused 5,757 casualties in a single year, and nearly four in ten victims were children, according to the 2024 Landmine Monitor.
That’s why Ronin’s work is nothing short of lifesaving. He’s not just helping clear fields—he’s making it possible for children to walk to school safely, for farmers to return to their land, and for entire communities to begin healing.
And Ronin isn’t alone. APOPO has trained over 100 rats for this kind of work, and some of them are even helping detect tuberculosis in clinics—proving these animals are far more capable than many might assume.
In a world where heroes come in all shapes and sizes, this whiskered little trailblazer stands tall. Ronin may be small, but his impact is enormous.
Trained to sniff out deadly landmines buried deep beneath the soil, Ronin now holds the Guinness World Record for most explosives detected by a rat. He’s a five-year-old hero, born in Tanzania and deployed in Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province, one of the most dangerous minefields on Earth.
While his size might surprise you—he’s about as long as a housecat—it’s Ronin’s nose that’s truly remarkable. With the help of APOPO, a Belgian nonprofit that trains animals to detect landmines and even tuberculosis, Ronin has spent years carefully scurrying across fields, alerting his human handlers to buried explosives.
The job is dangerous—but not for him. Ronin is light enough that he doesn’t set off the mines he’s helping remove. His agility and sharp sense of smell make him faster and more effective than traditional methods. In fact, he can clear a space the size of a tennis court in under 30 minutes. That same task could take a human deminer four days with a metal detector.
Ronin’s achievement builds on the legacy of another famous rat—Magawa, also trained by APOPO. Magawa identified 71 landmines and 38 pieces of unexploded ordnance during his five-year career. He passed away peacefully in 2022, but his work lives on in Ronin and others like him.
To understand why Ronin’s work matters, it helps to know just how serious the landmine crisis still is.
In Cambodia alone, more than 65,000 people have been killed or injured by landmines since the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979. And despite decades of demining efforts, an estimated 4 to 6 million unexploded mines remain hidden across the country. Much of this stems from a brutal chapter in history, when the U.S. dropped 2.7 million tons of ordnance over the region during the Vietnam War. A large percentage of those bombs never exploded—and are still lying in wait.
Globally, the issue is just as alarming. As of 2023, landmines caused 5,757 casualties in a single year, and nearly four in ten victims were children, according to the 2024 Landmine Monitor.
That’s why Ronin’s work is nothing short of lifesaving. He’s not just helping clear fields—he’s making it possible for children to walk to school safely, for farmers to return to their land, and for entire communities to begin healing.
And Ronin isn’t alone. APOPO has trained over 100 rats for this kind of work, and some of them are even helping detect tuberculosis in clinics—proving these animals are far more capable than many might assume.
In a world where heroes come in all shapes and sizes, this whiskered little trailblazer stands tall. Ronin may be small, but his impact is enormous.
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