Let’s conduct a fun experiment. If you have a cat or dog, place a treat in a thin, empty container and observe which paw they use to retrieve it.
According to science, most males tend to prefer their left foot; while most females support their right side. Many animals are ambidextrous, and these preferences may have a gender bias.
There are differences at the species level as well. Around 85-90% of us prefer the right hand, and this preference is seen in other primates like chimpanzees, gorillas, baboons, and ring-tailed lemurs.
This suggests that handedness is connected to lifestyle. Early primates used their left hand in trees to grip food and branches, and as they adapted to terrestrial life, their right hand became dominant.
Some primates do not adhere to this theory, like the slow loris and the Hanuman langur, which exhibit handedness that contradicts their habits. Other animals, like glossy black parrots, walruses, and red-necked wallabies, show hand or foot preferences that do not follow the expected patterns.
For the record, my cat did not cooperate with the experiment and instead demanded food vocally.
This article addresses the question “Can animals have right or left feet?” (submitted by Marlowe Smith).
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