Talk:Coat of arms of Greenland

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An entry from Coat of arms of Greenland appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know? column on 17 June 2006.

[edit] Left-handed polar bears

It's a facinating idea, but I'd like to see a little stronger evidence than a link to a quote:

"The coat of arms of Greenland - in the Greenlandic version. The version in the royal arms and flag follows the heraldic tradition in raising the right forepaw, while the Greenlandic version raises the left forepaw, because real polar bears are left-handed. The blazon does not specify which forepaw is raised, so there is no conflict between the two versions. Ole Andersen, 8 January 2001"[1]

Who is Ole Andersen, and how does he know that polar bears are left-handed? --Bookandcoffee 08:41, 17 June 2006 (UTC)

Googling for polar bear AND ("left-handed" OR "left paw" OR "left paws") reveals that it is a widespread belief among the Inuit, which has spread to Western culture too, that polar bears are left-handed ("left-pawed"), but there's little or no substantiation for it. Polar Bears International's "Myths and Misconceptions" page says it simply isn't true; polar bears use their right and left paws equally. Still, for purposes of a coat of arms, I suppose the traditional belief is interesting enough to be mentioned in the article. Angr (talk) 20:36, 17 June 2006 (UTC)