It had to happen. Sooner or later, expensive and uncooperative animals would be phased out in favor of hopping robots.
(Prototype Jockey-Ridden Hopping Robot)
For those of you who think that this is some sort of joke, well, it probably is. However, the guy behind the joke is Martin Buehler, an engineer at Boston Dynamics. They're the guys who make the BigDog robot, among other serious robotic projects.
Update 11-Oct-2016: Take a look at the Hopper from Lucky Starr and the Oceans of Venus (1954) by Isaac Asimov. End update:
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 10/2/2007)
Tactile Skin Supplier Map
'What strange sensitivity! What an amazing development of science was manifested in every move and act and word of this Robot!' - Ray Cummings, 1931.
DIY Robot Scorpion Crushes It
'...it raised its front end off the ground and waved its antennae at them, then raised one armoured claw as if to snip them out of the sky.' - Neal Asher, 2008.
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Tactile Skin Supplier Map
'What strange sensitivity! What an amazing development of science was manifested in every move and act and word of this Robot!'
Orb Nomad Zero-Emission Electric Aircraft
'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair or to perch on a flagpole in imitation of a giant bird, even in the windy city of Chicago.'
DIY Robot Scorpion Crushes It
'...it raised its front end off the ground and waved its antennae at them, then raised one armoured claw as if to snip them out of the sky.'