(CNN) It's not just humans that are left or right-handed. Animals also show a clear preference for what scientists call "lateralized behavior."

Reindeer herds tend to circle in a counter-clockwise direction; giraffes move their left leg first when splaying their legs; chimpanzees and gorillas show a significant right-hand bias, while orangutans show the opposite.

Now, scientists have found that common bottlenose dolphins show a preference for their right side when it comes to foraging for food on the seabed.

Dr. Jennifer Kaplan, who was part of the team that conducted the research in the Bahamas, said it was the captain of their research vessel who first observed that the dolphins always turned in the same direction.

"I didn't notice at first but after observing them for a while I saw it too. I thought it would be a great topic to research," said Kaplan, who works with the Dolphin Communication Project. "What surprised me most was that it was such a strong bias -- more than 99%."

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