A land-mine-hunting rat in Cambodia has set a new world record by sniffing out more than 100 mines and pieces of unexploded ordnance, a charity said on Friday.
Ronin, a giant African pouched rat, had tracked down 109 land mines and 15 other potentially deadly war remnants since his deployment to northern Preah Vihear province in August 2021, the Belgian charity APOPO said in a statement.
Five-year-old Ronin has been named the most successful mine-detection rat in the organization’s history, it said.
Photo: AFP / APOPO
“His exceptional accomplishments have earned him the Guinness World Records title for most land mines detected by a rat, highlighting the critical role of HeroRats in humanitarian demining,” APOPO said.
Ronin beat the previous record, held by hero rodent Magawa, who found 71 land mines and 38 unexploded ordnance during his five-year service before retirement in 2021.
Magawa, who was awarded a gold medal for heroism for clearing mines from about 225,000m2 of land — the equivalent of 42 soccer pitches — died in 2022.
Photo: AFP / APOPO
Ronin might have two years or more of detection work ahead of him, APOPO said.
“He’s not just an asset, he’s a valued partner and colleague,” Phanny, Ronin’s handler, said in the statement.
Cambodia remains littered with mines, discarded ammunition and other arms from decades of war starting in the 1960s.
After more than 30 years of civil war ended in 1998, Cambodia was left as one of the most heavily mined countries in the world.
Deaths from mines and unexploded ordnance are still common, with about 20,000 fatalities since 1979, and twice that number wounded.
Two Cambodian toddlers were killed in February when a rocket-propelled grenade believed buried since the country’s civil war blew up near their homes in northwestern Siem Reap province.
Cambodia had aimed to be mine-free by this year, but the government pushed the deadline back by five years, because of funding challenges and new land mine fields found along the Thai border.
BRUSHED OFF: An ambassador to Australia previously said that Beijing does not see a reason to apologize for its naval exercises and military maneuvers in international areas China set off alarm bells in New Zealand when it dispatched powerful warships on unprecedented missions in the South Pacific without explanation, military documents showed. Beijing has spent years expanding its reach in the southern Pacific Ocean, courting island nations with new hospitals, freshly paved roads and generous offers of climate aid. However, these diplomatic efforts have increasingly been accompanied by more overt displays of military power. Three Chinese warships sailed the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand in February, the first time such a task group had been sighted in those waters. “We have never seen vessels with this capability
A Japanese city would urge all smartphone users to limit screen time to two hours a day outside work or school under a proposed ordinance that includes no penalties. The limit — which would be recommended for all residents in Toyoake City — would not be binding and there would be no penalties incurred for higher usage, the draft ordinance showed. The proposal aims “to prevent excessive use of devices causing physical and mental health issues... including sleep problems,” Mayor Masafumi Koki said yesterday. The draft urges elementary-school students to avoid smartphones after 9pm, and junior-high students and older are advised not
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has fired his national police chief, who gained attention for leading the separate arrests of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte on orders of the International Criminal Court and televangelist Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, who is on the FBI’s most-wanted list for alleged child sex trafficking. Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin did not cite a reason for the removal of General Nicolas Torre as head of the 232,000-member national police force, a position he was appointed to by Marcos in May and which he would have held until 2027. He was replaced by another senior police general, Jose
POWER CONFLICT: The US president threatened to deploy National Guards in Baltimore. US media reports said he is also planning to station troops in Chicago US President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened to deploy National Guard troops to yet another Democratic stronghold, the Maryland city of Baltimore, as he seeks to expand his crackdown on crime and immigration. The Republican’s latest online rant about an “out of control, crime-ridden” city comes as Democratic state leaders — including Maryland Governor Wes Moore — line up to berate Trump on a high-profile political stage. Trump this month deployed the National Guard to the streets of Washington, in a widely criticized show of force the president said amounts to a federal takeover of US capital policing. The Guard began carrying
RSS