A RESEARCHER has poured cold water over theories that a rat showering itself was having fun.
The tiny creature was caught on camera calmly rubbing soap into its fur, even pausing to scrub its armpits clean.
The bizarre video – reportedly filmed in a Peruvian DJ’s bathroom sink – shows the rodent perfectly balanced on its hind legs as it rubs down its coat.
Many viewers were initially sceptical about the unverified video, suggesting it was a fake. Experts now say it is a rat but the creature is probably in agony, not “showering” as first suggested.
Tuomas Aivelo, a researcher in urban rat biology at the University of Helsinki in Finland, has now said it was “totally possible” that the rat was in pain from the soap.
He told Gizmodo: “The movements are pretty strange. A rat wouldn’t do that unless there’s something it really wants to get rid of.”
He added: “It just wants to get rid of the soap.”
The video of the rat washing itself has already racked up more than 37million views on social media after being posted on Reddit.
Electronic DJ Jose Correa, who claims he filmed the video in Huaraz City, Peru, said he was about to take a shower when he spotted the creature on Saturday morning.
Jose, 36, said: “He was just like a human, I’ve never seen anything like it.
“It went on for about 30 seconds, and then he ran off. I think he just wanted to give himself a good clean.
“I care a lot about animals so I wanted to protect his privacy.
“I would never want to hurt him. So I just filmed him and let him go.”
He added: “I never expected it would be this popular. I can’t believe it”
Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan laughed: “That’s ridiculous, you’ve been duped by fake news” when co-host Susana Reid tried to argue that the video was real.
Fresh from his interview with US President Donald Trump the exasperated telly host added: “That can’t be real, surely? No rat can do that! That’s ridiculous!”
But social media users remained sceptical, with dozens claiming that the rat was actually an incredibly life-like robot programmed to mimic washing or a puppet with its arms on the string.
Another theory speculated that the creature was trained by legendary American performance artist Zardulu, who once claimed to have tricked a rat into taking a pizza home on the subway.
A third suggested that the rat was doused with soap before the video and is frantically trying to scrub it off before it strips away his coat’s vital oils.
Another suggestion claims that the rat’s strangely big feet were glued to the floor, or cover for the hidden cable that powers it.
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