,
,
,
 |
| African Giant Pouched Rat (Cricetomys ansorgei) Ronin. [Apopo website capture] |
,
,
, ‘[Herald Economy = Reporter Kim Kwang-woo] In Cambodia, a country severely affected by landmines globally, an African pouched rat has set a new Guinness World Record for detecting landmines and other explosives.’,
,
, ‘According to the UK Independent on the 6th (local time), the Belgian NGO Apopo announced that the 5-year-old African pouched rat, Ronin, has discovered 109 landmines and 15 unexploded ordnance over the past three years.’,
,
, ‘Ronin broke the record of another African pouched rat, Magawa, who had found 71 landmines and 38 unexploded ordnance over five years before retiring in 2021, earning recognition from Guinness World Records.’,
,
, ‘Ronin has been deployed in the northern province of Preah Vihear, Cambodia since August 2021, detecting landmines. The organization trains African pouched rats, known for their exceptional sense of smell, to detect and locate explosives like TNT and assigns them to mine detection missions.’,
,
, ‘Apopo, which owns 104 mine-detecting rats, claims that these rats can scan an area the size of a tennis court in about 30 minutes.’,
,
, ‘Performing the same task using a mine removal device equipped with a metal detector can take up to four days. Apopo stated, “Ronin’s crucial work brings about real change to people who have lived with the fear that one mistake in daily life could be their last.”‘,
,
, ‘Ronin, who is 68 cm long and weighs 1.175 kg, likes avocados and is described by the organization as diligent but kind and relaxed.’,
,
, ‘Cambodia is one of the countries with the most landmines due to mines and unexploded ordnance buried during about 30 years of civil war that lasted until 1998.’,
,
, ‘During this time in Cambodia, it is estimated that tens of thousands of people have died due to mines and unexploded ordnance, and more than 1,000 square kilometers of land still remain contaminated by such explosives.’,
,
,