Stotting (also pronking or pronging) is a gait of quadrupeds, particularly gazelles (e.g., Thomson's Gazelles[1]), involving jumping high into the air by lifting all four feet off the ground simultaneously. This may occur during pursuit by a predator. It might also occur during play.
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Stot is a common Scots verb meaning "bounce" or "walk with a bounce."[2] Uses in this case include stotting a ball off a wall or rain stotting off a pavement. Pronking comes from the Afrikaans verb pronk-, which means "show off" or "strut" and is a cognate of the English verb "prance."[3]
Stotting 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.[4] Richard Dawkins, in his book The Selfish Gene, refers to stotting and explains it as the animal's attempt to advertise 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 so the predator might do well to try to hunt 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.[5] This is offered by adherents of the handicap principle as a prime example.
Both mule deer and pronghorn stot,[6] as do several other species native to North America, but among these the mule deer's stotting gait is distinctive for its exceptionally "stiff-legged" quality.[6]
In domesticated livestock such as sheep, stotting is typically performed only by young animals.[7] When startled, horses can stot in the manner of cats. However, horses also stot in apparent play or as a way to release excess energy. This is sometimes seen in excited competition animals as they end an event where short bursts of speed is essential, as well as in horses who are loose in a field, particularly young horses.