SQUIRRELS THAT AREN’T AMBIDEXTROUS ARE STUPIDER

A new study from the University of Exete (Exete? Is that, like, another planet?) published in Learning and Behaviour reports that squirrels can be left- or right-handed. Most are ambidextrous, but some favor one side of the body over the other, just like people. But, unlike people, squirrels that favor one paw or the other were found to be stupider. The squirrels who showed a paw preference in experiments were the ones who didn’t perform as well on the task of reaching into a tube to reach some nuts. They didn’t learn the task as quickly. The findings are in line with previous mammal studies that suggest strongly favoring one side is linked to poor cognitive performance in animals.
* Are they dumber than, say, a researcher who spends their day studying whether a squirrel is right- or left- handed?
* How do you figure whether a squirrel is right- or left- handed? Toss it a baseball bat and see how it stands at the plate?
* And how smart do you really need to be to walk around all day looking for stuff to eat?
* Even a stupid squirrel can outsmart you in figuring out how to get to the bird feeder.