Amotz Zahavi suggested that, evolutionarily, bluffing could be made more difficult by the handicap principle wherein the winning organism in a “handicap race” is the one which triumphs despite carrying the burden of the largest handicap.

While the peacock is the oft used example of such a signal, the Springbok Antelope is perhaps a more interesting case study. In the presence of a predator the springbok will begin stotting which involves springing into the air and acting conspicuously so as to signal honestly that it is young, fit, and not worth chasing.