Are All Polar Bears Left-Handed? The Myth Debunked

You've probably heard it before: all polar bears are left-handed. It's one of those "facts" that gets passed around at dinner parties and shared on social media. The only problem? It's completely false.

This arctic myth has been thoroughly debunked by scientists who actually studied how polar bears use their paws. And the truth is way more interesting than the myth.

What the Science Actually Shows

Researchers at the University of Guelph in Canada put this claim to the test. They watched polar bears opening doors, reaching for food, and resting with paws under their chins. The result? No consistent paw preference across all bears.

Some bears favored their left paw, others preferred their right, and some were downright ambidextrous. It's just like humans—about 90% of us are right-handed, but we're not all right-handed.

Zoo studies backed this up. At Zoo Atlanta in the 1990s, researchers tested 5 bears:

• 3 showed left paw preferences
• 1 preferred the right paw
• 1 was ambidextrous

At San Diego Zoo, only about 30% of tested bears favored their left paw when swatting a ball. If all polar bears were truly left-handed, that number should be close to 100%.

So Where Did This Myth Come From?

The origins are murky, but it likely stems from anecdotal observations by hunters and explorers who noticed individual bears using their left paws more often. Once the idea got into popular culture, it spread like wildfire—no fact-checking required.

Some old Eskimo folklore mentions bears covering their black noses with a paw while hunting seals. Maybe someone assumed it was always the left paw? We may never know for sure.

There's also an interesting injury study that found more damage to right forelimbs than left ones. This might actually suggest right-paw dominance in some populations, since you'd expect the dominant paw to sustain more wear and tear.

How Polar Bears Actually Use Their Paws

Regardless of which paw they prefer, polar bears are absolute masters at using them. Their massive front paws serve multiple critical functions:

• Breaking through seal dens in the ice with crushing force
• Flipping 300-pound seals out of breathing holes
• Paddling through frigid water at 10 km/h for up to 100 km
• Grooming ice chunks from between their toe pads

When hunting, bears use "still-hunting" techniques, waiting by seal breathing holes for up to 15 hours. When a seal surfaces, the bear strikes with lightning speed—using whichever paw gets there first.

The real takeaway? Polar bears are incredibly versatile predators who use both paws effectively, adapting their technique to the situation. They're not locked into using one paw any more than you're locked into using one hand to open your fridge.

So next time someone confidently declares that all polar bears are left-handed, you can set the record straight. Individual bears might have preferences, but as a species, they're no more left-pawed than humans are all right-handed. The Arctic's apex predator doesn't play favorites with its paws.