Latest news with #HeroRATs
News18
30-05-2025
- Health
- News18
Why Armies Are Recruiting Rats, And What India Is Doing With Bees
Last Updated: Along the porous and often volatile India-Bangladesh border, the Border Security Force (BSF) has deployed a most unconventional weapon, i.e. bees In a quiet compound in Cambodia, rats scurry across a field – not in search of food, but of danger. These are no ordinary rodents. Known as African Giant Pouched Rats or more affectionately as 'HeroRATs", they are trained to detect hidden landmines and explosives with stunning precision. Cambodia's military has embraced their services, and so have armies in Ukraine, Israel, and several European nations. These oversized rodents, native to sub-Saharan Africa, boast a uniquely powerful sense of smell that allows them to detect even minute traces of explosives like TNT. Measuring up to 45 centimetres long, with tails extending nearly half a metre, the African Giant Pouched Rat might resemble a small cat more than a typical house rat. But unlike most animals, they are light enough to walk over landmines without setting them off, making them invaluable in mine-infested countries such as Mozambique, Angola, and Cambodia. It's not just their sensitive noses that make them perfect for the job. A rat can clear an area the size of a tennis court in just 30 minutes, a task that would take human deminers days, often at great personal risk. They are relatively cheap to maintain and can be trained in less than a year. With a lifespan of 6 to 8 years, these rodents can serve for most of their lives, proving both cost-effective and dependable. The Belgian nonprofit APOPO pioneered the training of these rats, branding them 'HeroRATs" and sending them into post-conflict zones. Their ability to detect plastic mines, which metal detectors often miss, further increases their value. And their talents don't end with explosives; in medical settings, these rats have even been trained to sniff out tuberculosis in human sputum samples. While Cambodia and Ukraine deploy rats in minefields, Israel's security forces are giving them an urban twist. Specially trained rodents are used at airports to sniff out explosives in luggage – a subtler, more mobile alternative to bomb-sniffing dogs. Compact, quick, and almost undetectable in their work, these rats assist in pre-empting potential terror threats without drawing attention. Russia, too, has joined the ranks of rat trainers, employing them in mine detection. Iran, on the other hand, once claimed to have developed 'suicide rats" trained to infiltrate enemy bases and detonate explosives, though this sensational claim remains unverified and widely disputed. While rats rule the landmines, India has turned to the hives. Along the porous and often volatile India-Bangladesh border, the Border Security Force (BSF) has deployed a most unconventional weapon, i.e. bees. In West Bengal's Nadia district, BSF's 32nd Battalion has begun hanging beekeeping boxes along barbed-wire fences. These apiaries are not just for honey. The swarms of bees inside act as a natural deterrent to smugglers and infiltrators. Anyone attempting to breach the fences risks an immediate and painful attack. The presence of bees has reportedly already started discouraging illegal crossings. Flowering plants have been cultivated nearby to support the hives, while BSF personnel receive training in basic beekeeping – a fusion of agriculture and national defence that might once have sounded absurd but is proving remarkably effective. Not to be left behind, marine forces around the world are turning to the ocean's most intelligent creatures. The US Navy operates the Marine Mammal Program, which trains dolphins and California sea lions to detect underwater mines and protect naval assets. Dolphins, with their natural sonar, can locate submerged explosives more accurately than most machines. Sea lions, meanwhile, are trained to retrieve objects and even tag divers. Russia has mirrored these efforts, deploying dolphins for underwater reconnaissance and possibly even espionage. Marine mammals offer the advantage of speed, intelligence, and stealth, making them ideal partners in naval operations. The global embrace of animal operatives signals a shift in how militaries perceive intelligence, adaptability, and cost-efficiency. Whether sniffing out bombs, detecting diseases, or guarding borders, animals are stepping into roles once reserved for humans and machines. First Published:
Arab Times
06-04-2025
- General
- Arab Times
Rat sets new Guinness World Record for sniffing out landmines
PHNOM PENH, April 6, (Xinhua): A mine-sniffing rat has earned a Guinness World Records title for sniffing more than 100 landmines and items of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Cambodia, charity APOPO said in a news release on Friday. Ronin, an African giant pouched rat (Cricetomys ansorgei), has achieved the distinction of being the most successful Mine Detection Rat (MDR) in the organization's history, the news release said. "His exceptional accomplishments have earned him the Guinness World Records title for most landmines detected by a rat, highlighting the critical role of HeroRATs in humanitarian demining," it said. Since his deployment to Preah Vihear province in northwest Cambodia in August 2021, Ronin has detected an impressive 109 landmines and 15 items of UXO, surpassing the previous record held by the legendary HeroRAT Magawa, who identified 71 landmines and 38 pieces of UXO during his five-year service, it added. Magawa, who won a gold medal for his mine-detection work in Cambodia, died at the age of eight in 2022. Ronin's work is far from finished, the news release said, adding that at just five years old, he may have two years or more of detection work ahead of him, continuing to build on his already record-breaking total. Cambodia is one of countries worst affected by landmines and UXO. An estimated 4 million to 6 million landmines and other munitions had been left over from three decades of war and internal conflicts that ended in 1998. An official report showed that from 1979 to 2024, landmine and UXO explosions had claimed 19,834 lives and maimed 45,252 others. The Southeast Asian country is committed to getting rid of all types of landmines and UXO by 2030.
The Independent
05-04-2025
- General
- The Independent
Ronin the rat breaks world record in Cambodia by detecting more than 100 landmines
An African landmine-sniffing rat in Cambodia has broken a world record after detecting more than 100 landmines and other explosives in the country, announced its non-profit Apopo on Friday. The giant pouched rat has been named by the Belgian charity as its most successful Mine Detection Rat (MDR) for uncovering 109 landmines and 15 items of unexploded ordnance since 2021, Apopo said in a statement. Ronin the rat has been recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records which said that the rodent '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'. 'And Ronin's work is far from finished. At just five years old, he may have two years or more of detection work ahead of him, continuing to build on his already record-breaking total,' the statement by Apopo said. Ronin was deployed to Preah Vihear province in Cambodia in August 2021, Apopo said. The rodent has broken the previous record held by the African giant pouched rat Magawa who detected 71 landmines and 38 pieces of unexploded ordnance over the course of five years. The Tanzania -based Apopo non-profit has 104 rodent recruits which it calls HeroRATS. Its page of Ronin says that the avocado-loving rat is 68cm in length, weighs 1,175gm, and his personality is 'hardworking, but friendly and relaxed'. Scarred by decades of civil war, Cambodia is one of the world's most heavily landmined countries, with more than 1,000sqkm (621 sq miles) of land still contaminated. It has among the highest number of amputees per capita, with more than 40,000 people losing limbs to explosives. Apopo says its HeroRATs can search an area the size of a tennis court in 30 minutes. The same task would take a deminer with a metal detector up to four days depending on how much scrap metal was lying around. It says that the trained rats can detect the chemical compound within explosives called TNT, and they ignore scrap metal, unlike traditional methods with a metal detector.
