Sauteur d'Alfort rabbit-like locomotory disturbances and eye disorders in two pet rabbits—‘handstand rabbits’

In 1935, French veterinarians observed a rabbit with a peculiar gait. Sometimes, when walking or running, the sauteur d'Alfort rabbit would lift its back legs over its head, scrambling along the ground on its forelimbs like a circus performer (see video, above).

Now, Müller et al. (2025) have pinned down the genetic mutation that likely causes this breed to have this strange form of locomotion. The gene involved holds clues to how the spinal cord enables walking, hopping, and even hand-standing—a finding that dovetails with other work over the past decade on mice and horses. Together, the studies provide an emerging picture that may help explain how all vertebrates, including humans, move around.