Researchers discover that all kangaroos are left-handed

"True"-handedness — that is, the preference for using one hand over the other — was once thought to be a trait unique to primates. No longer: According to Discovery, research backed by the National Geographic Society and published in Current Biology reveals that some marsupials can be even more true-handed than people. In fact, kangaroos are all left-handed.

Yep. Basically every single kangaroo is a lefty.

When going about their kangaroo business — grooming, picking leaves, bending tree branches, giving high fives — wild eastern and red kangaroos choose to use their left hands. The news is a bit of a surprise even to researchers because, unlike other mammals, kangaroos don't have the same sort of neural circuitry in their brains bridging the left and right hemispheres. Further research on kangaroo brains, then, could potentially lead to medical advances in disorders linked to handedness, like autism and schizophrenia.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Not all marsupials are lefties, though — red-necked wallabies, alas, prefer their right hands.