# Is There An African Tribe Where The People Have Giant, Two-Toed Feet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 24, 2009, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-african-tribe-where-the-people-have-giant-two-toed-feet/507440 "2009-08-24T00:53:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-african-tribe-where-the-people-have-giant-two-toed-feet/507440/1 "2009-08-24T00:53:34Z")
Is it true that there is a tribe in Africa where it is commonplace for people to be born with giant feet that have only two toes each? How widespread is this deformity within this tribe, and what is the cause of it? Is the mutation equally distributed among males and female members? Can the deformed toes be used to grasp objects as a lobster claw might operate? If so, would this mutation could confer some advantage in climbing trees? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Zany\_Zeolite\_Zipper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/4af34b/32.png) [@Zany\_Zeolite\_Zipper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zany_Zeolite_Zipper)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-african-tribe-where-the-people-have-giant-two-toed-feet/507440/2 "2009-08-24T00:58:18Z")
It’s [true](http://blog.videosift.com/video/Inbreeding-is-bad-mmkay), but I don’t know the answer to your other questions. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-african-tribe-where-the-people-have-giant-two-toed-feet/507440/3 "2009-08-24T00:58:49Z")
Not sure about giant, but amongst the [Vadoma](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vadoma), ectrodactyly is quite common. ---
**Author:** ![Henrichek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5daacb/32.png) [@Henrichek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Henrichek)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-african-tribe-where-the-people-have-giant-two-toed-feet/507440/4 "2009-08-24T01:10:11Z")
Yikes. I’ve never heard of ectrodactyly before. Pterodactyly would be awesome though. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-african-tribe-where-the-people-have-giant-two-toed-feet/507440/5 "2009-08-24T01:15:50Z")
Huh. Learn something new every day. I thought this couldn’t possibly be true. Ignorance Fought. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-african-tribe-where-the-people-have-giant-two-toed-feet/507440/6 "2009-08-24T01:19:48Z")
Former L.A. news anchor Bree Walker has ectrodactyly. I never noticed (though I watched ABC and she was on CBS, so I didn’t see her broadcasts often). ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-african-tribe-where-the-people-have-giant-two-toed-feet/507440/7 "2009-08-24T12:13:36Z")
> [@Ro0sh](#): > > Huh. Learn something new every day. I thought this couldn’t possibly be true. Ignorance Fought. I too would have dismissed this out of hand. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-african-tribe-where-the-people-have-giant-two-toed-feet/507440/8 "2009-08-24T12:19:54Z")
I remember very vaguely reading (but I could be entirely wrong) that the gene causing ectrodactyly has some other genetical advantage, making the bearer less susceptible to disease. Or was that [sickle-cell anemia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sickle-cell_disease)? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-african-tribe-where-the-people-have-giant-two-toed-feet/507440/9 "2009-08-24T12:22:15Z")
> [@Ro0sh](#): > > Huh. Learn something new every day. I thought this couldn’t possibly be true. Same here. I figured he’d misunderstood some camel-toe reference, although that would be a very strange method by which to climb trees. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-african-tribe-where-the-people-have-giant-two-toed-feet/507440/10 "2009-08-24T13:01:23Z")
Amazing. I would have sworn this was some old traveler’s tale from Herodotus or Mandeville, such as the African tribe who had no heads and whose face was located on their chest! ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-african-tribe-where-the-people-have-giant-two-toed-feet/507440/11 "2009-08-24T17:02:51Z")
A better link than above: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9BNtoVp5CE) ---
**Author:** ![UncleFred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@UncleFred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleFred)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-african-tribe-where-the-people-have-giant-two-toed-feet/507440/12 "2009-08-24T17:37:41Z")
Didn’t the ‘fugitive’ in “Brother From Another Planet” have this? ---
**Author:** ![Henrichek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5daacb/32.png) [@Henrichek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Henrichek)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-african-tribe-where-the-people-have-giant-two-toed-feet/507440/13 "2009-08-24T17:46:41Z")
They don’t seem to be very flexible or usable for gripping. ---
**Author:** ![wesengelbrecht\_gmail.com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ab992/32.png) [@wesengelbrecht\_gmail.com](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wesengelbrecht_gmail.com)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-african-tribe-where-the-people-have-giant-two-toed-feet/507440/14 "2010-09-10T14:47:27Z")
I saw a picture of such a human many years ago.3 Years ago I saw a guy myself in The Democratic Republic of Congo.Absolutely normal with hands and feet devoloped as a birds feet ---
**Author:** ![flano1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f14d63/32.png) [@flano1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flano1)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-african-tribe-where-the-people-have-giant-two-toed-feet/507440/15 "2010-09-10T19:35:34Z")
Checks date. Checks pulse. Pinches self. Passes out. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-african-tribe-where-the-people-have-giant-two-toed-feet/507440/16 "2010-09-10T19:42:14Z")
The hell!? That’s utterly fascinating. Cheers for bumping this thread I missed first time round Mr **@gmail.com** ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-african-tribe-where-the-people-have-giant-two-toed-feet/507440/17 "2010-09-10T20:05:21Z")
> [@UncleFred](#): > > Didn’t the ‘fugitive’ in “Brother From Another Planet” have this? Not really; they were just weird alien feet. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-african-tribe-where-the-people-have-giant-two-toed-feet/507440/18 "2010-09-10T20:20:23Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > > [@Ro0sh](#): > > > > Huh. Learn something new every day. I thought this couldn’t possibly be true. > > Same here. I figured he’d misunderstood some camel-toe reference, although that would be a very strange method by which to climb trees. Is camel-toe the same as pussy-foot? credit: Stephen Colbert ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-african-tribe-where-the-people-have-giant-two-toed-feet/507440/19 "2010-09-10T20:53:13Z")
A year and six days after the OP, I can offer [this cite]([http://comics.com/ripleys\_believe\_it\_or\_not/2010-08-29/](http://comics.com/ripleys_believe_it_or_not/2010-08-29/)" title=“Ripley’s Believe It or Not!”\>\“Ripley’s **Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-african-tribe-where-the-people-have-giant-two-toed-feet/507440/20 "2010-09-10T20:59:31Z") I bet those people have trouble finding jobs. Everyone of them would claw their way to the top 😃