You, like most Americans, probably plan to run for president. You have plenty of time, theoretically; the general election is still 22 months away and even if you plan to seek the nomination of one of the major parties, those don't kick off until January.
Rearing is a common measure of activity and exploratory behavior used in the open field and sometimes in certain mazes. Nothing else. But I agree it could be related to very specific behaviors. I like the idea of escape.
I study open field behaviour in wistar rats, and one of the outcome measures I use is rearing (i.e. standing on rear limbs). I have noticed that in some instances, rearing can be the most sensitive outcome measuring is, detecting behavioural changes not related to central zone activity (my primary outcome). There seem to be 2 main types of rearing - free-standing, and against the walls. I think rearing is related to vigilance and reflects, but haven't had much luck finding any published data looking into this! Of course, it could just be an escape response to being put in a box, but I'm not convinced of this.