Crocodiles are masters of deception. I’m not talking about their ability to perfectly conceal themselves until the moment they burst from the water, jaws agape. I mean that they’re not as sluggish as they might seem. Yes, crocodiles often drag their bellies along the riverbank, but they get around in other ways. Not only can they push themselves into a scaly strut called a “high walk”, crocodiles can bound and gallop.

For experts who study animal mechanics, “bound” and “gallop” have specific meanings. A crocodilian bound is distinguished by the animal’s forelimbs hitting the ground simultaneously with the hindlimbs pushing off quickly after, while a gallop is a four-beat sequence in which the fore and hindlimbs touch off in turn.

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