Giraffe pelvis, though relatively short, has an ilium that is outspread at the upper ends. A giraffe has only two gaits: walking and galloping. Walking is done by moving the legs on one side of the body at the same time, then doing the same on the other side. When galloping, the hind legs move around the front legs before the latter move forward, and the tail will curl up. The animal relies on the forward and backward motions of its head and neck to maintain balance and the counter momentum while galloping. The giraffe can reach a sprint speed of
West African giraffe giraffe" are now known to be the Kordofan giraffe ("G. c. antiquorum"). Older studies on giraffe subspecies have caused some researchers to question the separate status of "G. c. peralta" and the Kordofan giraffe ("G. c. antiquorum"). Genetic testing published in 2007 confirmed the distinctiveness of the West African giraffe. Most captive giraffes from northwestern Africa are in French zoological parks, a result of the history of French colonialism in what was French West Africa. Those giraffes were formerly treated as "G. c. peralta". However, since genetic analysis revealed that only giraffes to the west of Lake Chad belong to