> When journalists hear hoof beats, you want them to think ‘horses’ not ‘zebras’, though, right? No. If they hear hoof beats, but don't know the animals invol

> When journalists hear hoof beats, you want them to think ‘horses’ not ‘zebras’, though, right? No. If they hear hoof beats, but don't know the animals involved, I want them to write "I heard hoof beats". If they manage to collect enough evidence to be confident of the animals involved, then I want them to say "The hoof beats were those of the lesser Siberian Elk" (or whatever it was). If they are unable to collect enough evidence to be confident (and they should have a high bar for this), I want them to say "It appears difficult or impossible to identify the creatures that made the hoof beats". These do not all need to be a part of the same report or appear on the same day.