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Gabriel Nève
Marseille, France
Asymmetric action is common in animals. For example, a squirrel eating seeds from a pine cone either puts its right paw on the tip of the cone axis and turns the cone with the left paw or the other way around.
Different piles of eaten cones contain cones from either right or left-pawed squirrels. Studies conducted in Spain showed that the proportions of right and left-handed individuals differ among squirrel populations, as they do in humans.
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Proportions of right and left-handed individuals differ among squirrel populations, as they do in humans
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Danielle Tan
El Cerrito, California, US
Toto, my small but opinionated canine companion, offers a surprisingly strict take on laterality. When invited to “shake”, he will reliably present his right paw, but only if the human counterpart is also a right hand. Offer him a left, and he looks at you as though you have fundamentally misunderstood the rules of engagement. There is no compromise.
His bias extends beyond polite greetings. When prompted to “dance”, Toto performs a tight, almost comical spin, always to the right. Never left. Much like Zoolander, Toto isn’t an “ambiturner”.
While it’s tempting to dismiss this as a quirky training artefact, the consistency suggests something closer to a motor preference and hemispheric specialisation in the brain. Toto’s case might be an exaggerated but charming example: a right-pawed social contract paired with a right-turning motor routine.
Or, of course, he’s just decided that this is how things are done and sees no reason to entertain alternatives.
Victor Lovedale
Stowlangtoft, Suffolk, UK
We have a very needy Bengal cross tomcat who is very much right-pawed. When jumping onto a lap, he may circle, then always approaches and jumps from his right side, and when pawing for attention, he almost always uses his right paw. Quirky but cute.
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