NEWS COPY - WITH VIDEO

A smart rat has learned how to communicate with its owner using hand signals.

The brainy four-month-old male bandicoot rat nnamed Jao Tong understands the hand gestures made by its owner.

Yongkuth Tokeeree, 33, said he trains the rat inside their home in Ang Thong province, central Thailand to read hand signs.

He showed off their progress through a video showing the rat standing still when Yongkuth waved his hand.

The tattoo artist had to close down his shop because of the Covid-19 pandemic so he had more time to train his rat,

He would carry the smart little rodent on the lid of the barrels, while he feeds the other rats.

Whenever he moves from one enclosure to another, Jao Tong will follow the hand gestures that he makes and stay still when he asked it to.

Yongkuth said: "When I first started in the bandicoot breeding business, I used to sneak in at night to play with these rats, then I saw Jao Tong, he was very gentle. This boy didn't even try to bite me."

He added that when first came across the smart bandicoot rat, he felt an instant bond.

He said: "Jao Tong wasn't as aggressive as any other rats I took care of before. It never attempted to escape, and it seems to understand me when I talk to it."

The rat owner also shifted to bandicoot breeding business as an alternative source of income which he found enjoyable.

Bandicoots are small marsupials native to Australia and New Guinea that use their front feet to dig for food.

They forage for underground insects and larvae, leaving behind a series of small holes from their snouts poking the ground.