Everybody let's stott

Most people don't know what stotting is. I have reached this conclusion because there isn't even a Wikipedia entry on it yet. Apparently it is a bit of zoologist jargon with Scottish origins. Are you interested? Intrigued? Whatever, just keep reading.

An animal is said to be “stotting” when it bounces in the air with all four legs held out straight. They mostly do it when they are being chased by something nasty and hungry. If you watch an African nature docco for long enough you are bound to see a gazelle doing it.

If my memory serves me correctly, the most accepted* hypothetical reason for stotting while escaping from something is that by bouncing in the air you are showing how super fit and healthy you are, while also introducing a random element to confuse them. So basically it is an anti-consumption tactic. "I can outrun you and outmanoeuvre you, so why don’t you just give up now!”

I believe that this is one of those occasions where we can learn valuable lessons from nature.

I have decided that the next time I’m confronted by a large scary person down a dark alley (which would actually be the first time in my life that I’ve ever been confronted by a large scary person down a dark alley) I’ll just stott my way out of trouble!




* A popular alternative hypothesis is that gazelles are lacking that little bit of extra something in the brain cell department.