Behavioural lateralization, the differential use one side of the body, and/or the bilateral use of sensory organs or limbs, is common in many vertebrates. One way in which behavioural lateralization can be detected in animals is through turning biases, which is an inherent preference to either turn left or right. Mole-rats are a unique group of mammals that demonstrate a wide range of social organizations ranging from solitary to eusociality. Behavioural asymmetry has not previously been investigated in mole-rats. In this study, captive and wild solitary Cape-mole rats (Georychus capensis) were investigated for individual (relative laterality (L_R)) and population-level (absolute laterality (L_A)) laterality. Mole-rats in the captive group were in the laboratory for at least one year, whereas the wild group were captured and experimented on within 2 weeks of capture. Animals were placed in a Y-maze facing away from the centre of the maze, and the turn towards the centre of the maze was evaluated to determine individual turning biases. Lateralized individual turning biases were more apparent in wild (7/9), compared to captive (3/10) individuals. Both captive and wild populations demonstrated a left bias, which was higher in wild animals, but not significantly so. Cape mole-rats are extremely xenophobic and aggressive, and this aggressive behaviour may underlie the turning biases in these animals, as aggression is primarily a right hemisphere dominant process. The reduced lateralization observed in captive animals may be due to a reduced need for these behaviours as a result of different environments in captivity.

行为偏侧化，身体一侧的差异使用和/或感觉器官或四肢的双边使用在许多脊椎动物中很常见。可以在动物中检测到行为偏侧的一种方法是通过转向偏向，这是固有的偏向左转或右转的偏好。le鼠是一组独特的哺乳动物，它们表现出从孤独到善意的各种社会组织。行为不对称以前没有在鼠类中进行过研究。在这项研究中，圈养野生孤普摩尔大鼠（Georychus兔）进行了调查个体（相偏侧（L _[R ））和群体水平（绝对偏侧（L_甲））偏斜。圈养组的鼠在实验室中居住了至少一年，而野生组被捕获并在捕获后2周内进行了实验。将动物放在远离迷宫中心的Y迷宫中，并评估向迷宫中心的转向，以确定各个转向偏向。与圈养（3/10）的个体相比，在野生（7/9）中，横向化的个体转向偏见更为明显。圈养种群和野生种群均表现出左偏，在野生动物中偏左偏高，但不明显。开普mole鼠具有排外性和侵略性，这种侵略行为可能是这些动物转向偏见的根源，因为侵略主要是右半球主导的过程。