Simple enough question. Are polar bears left handed? This is a relatively easy factoid to find, and can be found just about anywhere online. But like so many out there, and believe us when we say that there’s are a lot, this one is just simply wrong. All polar bears are not left handed.
It has been reported that nearly all polar bears are left handed, or left pawed to be more precise. With humans, the majority of the population are right handed, so if this were the case it would means that you will most likely never be able to shake the hand of a Polar Bear. Not that you would, but just saying. However, as much as we would like this to be true, it is not. Polar bears appear to be ambidextrous. They favor neither the left or right paw, and will use which ever is the most appropriate for the task at hand. So how do we know? After all, we could be wrong ourselves and just making this up?
Why aren’t polar bears left handed?
We know this because varying scientists have observed that the animals don’t exhibit a preference. Even though polar bears live in an inhospitable climate, members of the scientific community have been observing these magnificent creatures for decades, if not centuries. And scientists conduct some very mundane and weird studies, like the ones in Antarctica which showed some disturbing penguin behavior. Not only are there studies of the animals by researchers, there’s also numerous film clips that show they prefer neither hand.
Where did this claim that all polar bears are left handed come from?
Like a lot of these factoids, they were made up for entertainment purposes. They were either part of a list intended to go viral via email prior to social networking sites, or actually published in a book. It appears as though this particular factoid first appeared as part of an email list in the late 1990’s. I will admit it though. At first glance it does seem rather quirky, but alas, it’s not true.
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