A new study published in the journal Current Biology has found that kangaroos tend to be left-handed.

Lead researcher Yegor Malashichev, Saint Petersburg State University, Russia, found that wild kangaroos in Australia and Tasmania showed “a natural preference for their left hands when performing particular actions – grooming the nose, picking a leaf or bending for a tree branch.”

Malashichev was surprised by the findings, as kangaroos lack the neural circuit linking the two hemispheres of the brain that is common in other mammals.

“What we observed in reality, we did not initially expect,” stated Malashichev. “But the more we observed, the more it became obvious that there is something really new and interesting in the wild.”

Researchers also noted that left-handedness was more apparent in eastern grey and red kangaroos, while other species such as the red-necked wallaby appeared to use their left hands for tasks requiring fine motor skills, but their right hand for tasks that required more physical strength.

The scientists were studying consistencies in the brains of mammals, in particular those that walk upright. According to Malashichev, in “a special-assessment scale of handedness adopted for primates, kangaroos pulled down the highest grades.”

Source: WISH TV