"When a gazelle spots a stalking cheetah, he will start jumping very high, straight up in the air. It’s a rather remarkable sight, actually. At first blush, this seems kind of stupid. Here is this gazelle being stalked by a cheetah, and when he notices, rather than running away, he makes himself incredibly obvious to the cheetah.
However, what happens next demonstrates the purpose of the stotting: the cheetah gives up the hunt and walks away. The stotting is the gazelle’s way of telling the cheetah that he sees her, has a head start, and that a chase would be futile.
I am honest!
Stotting is often referred to as an “honest” signal because, since the gazelle has to be in good physical shape to perform the signal, it is a true display of fitness. This is a fascinating example of co-evolution because the gazelle has evolved to perform the signal and the cheetah has evolved the ability to interpret it. Both species benefit from this communication because they’ve been spared the bother of a fruitless chase.
The gazelle is happy to evolve a way to avoid having to outrun the cheetah every time, and the cheetah is happy to evolve a way to reduce its record of unsuccessful hunts."
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