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Hamster gets behind the wheel in Spanish commercial

Hamster gets behind the wheel in Spanish commercial. (Screengrab/YouTube)

Miners, watch out for your jobs: there's a 6oz hamster that can drive a mining truck, and he accepts payment in carrots.

Volvo's latest viral marketing campaign for its Volvo FMX trucks, which are advertised as safe and easy to handle, employed a hamster to drive a dump truck up a winding road at a quarry in Spain. The video shows the truck's steering wheel replaced with a hamster wheel, and its driver replaced with Charlie the hamster, though he had help from a human stunt driver, Seon Rogers, who held out a carrot to direct the steering.

"The test was filmed in a steep quarry that's infamous for its challenging conditions —Los Tres Cunados in northwestern Spain," the video description says. Can the hamster handle the turns?

[ Related: 1966 Volvo clocks up 3 million miles to set new Guinness world record ]

The safety measures are apparent, but the video is still tense, creating an impression that this stunt is one carrot short of a disaster. The video has been viewed more than 4.3 million times since it was uploaded on Sept. 11.

One of the people on set, Sten Ragnhult, told the Olive Press the video was not a trick.

“I can assure you that this is for real – the hamster really can steer the truck,” Ragnhult told the news outlet.

One YouTube commenter asked cheekily if the hamster was paid, and if he's a hit with the ladies now that he's shown off his new skill.

"Charlie got lots of carrots. His relationship status is currently unknown," Volvo Trucks responded. We've no doubt this stunt hamster's employment status is stable.