Why do the antelopes in the meadow run in circles instead of running away when a gun is pointed at them?

Question

Why do the antelopes in the meadow run in circles instead of running away when a gun is pointed at them?

Answer 1

Antelopes are essentially social creatures.  They function in a pack mentality that comes out when they're under attack.  When threatened, their first instinct is to protect their young and to make themselves as big as possible against potential predations.  They aren't aware of where gunshots are coming from as most hunters aren't close enough for the antelope to formulate a causative relationship between the gun and the hunter; they run to get away from the noise the gunshot makes, because they're fright and they run in circles to make themselves seem bigger in a group to be less likely to be picked off by a lion or other predator.

Answer 2

Antelopes do not know what guns are, so if they're running, it is not because they have seen a gun. That said, a common defensive tactic amongst antelopes is to form a circle around the young of the herd.