Stotting

"Stotting (also pronking or pronging) is a gait of quadrupeds, particularly gazelles (e.g. Thomson's Gazelles), involving jumping high into the air. This may occur during pursuit by a predator. It might also occur during play. This reduces the lead distance and speed of the pursued animal, and thus makes it easier for the predator to catch. This apparently maladaptive behavior may signal to the predator or potential mates its comparative fitness as a form of boasting or taunting, and so therefore may be an evolutionarily selected behavior or antipredator adaptation. Richard Dawkins, in his book The Selfish Gene, refers to stotting and explains it as the animal's attempt at advertising its health. Since mammalian predators tend to hunt old or unhealthy animals, stotting informs the predator that the animal is actually very healthy and strong and the predator might do well to try to hunt the other animals in the herd. Previously, some other theorists considered this behavior as an act of altruism, thinking the animal tried to draw the predator's attention to itself and away from the herd. Evidence supports the hypothesis of advertising unprofitability - for example cheetahs abandon more hunts when the gazelle stots, and in the event they do give chase, they are far less likely to make a kill.^[1] This is offered by adherents of the handicap principle as a prime example."