25 of the Strangest Names For Groups of Animals

Check out this list of some of the craziest names for groups of common animals!

When animals congregate, interesting things happen. Even more interesting is that these groups have special and unusual names—some are real head-scratchers; some seem to make perfect sense. Take a look at these collective nouns for groups of common birds, mammals, and reptiles:

25 of the Strangest Names For Groups of Animals

  1. Alligators – a congregation
  2. Apes – a shrewdness
  3. Bats – a colony or cauldron
  4. Bears – a sleuth
  5. Cats – a clowder
  6. Crows – a murder
  7. Donkeys – a pace
  8. Ferrets – a business
  9. Fox – a skulk or leash
  10. Gerbils – a horde
  11. Giraffes – a tower
  12. Hippopotamuses – a bloat
  13. Hyenas – a cackle
  14. Leopards – a leap
  15. Martens – a richness
  16. Owls – a parliament
  17. Porcupines – a prickle
  18. Raccoons – a nursery or gaze
  19. Rats – a mischief
  20. Rhinos – a crash
  21. Skunks – a surfeit
  22. Squirrels – a dray
  23. Toads – a knot
  24. Turtles – a bale
  25. Whales – a pod

One more: Don’t believe what you read on the internet—a group of baboons is not a “congress” as has been circulating widely. The correct term is a “troop” of baboons. Now you know!

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Dan

Ostentation of peacocks

Capt Blunder

An exaltation of meadowlarks
A putrification of attorneys

Digital

You win the internet for today!

HARRY WESTMORELAND

this is totally wacky and wild!!!

Svantlas

A fever of stingrays

Susan Higgins

Good one!

Caydee

Fennec foxes are found in North Africa from Morocco to Egypt, south to north Niger and Sudan, east to Sinai Peninsula and Kuwait. A male fox is called a ‘reynard’, the female is called a ‘vixen’ and young are called ‘kits’. A group of foxes is called a ‘skulk’ or a ‘leash’.

Susan Higgins

Hi Caydee, that’s what we say in the article?

Caydee

A group of pandas is known as an embarrassment.

gael

a pandemonium of parrots
a loveliness of ladybirds
a flamboyance of flamingoes

Janice Welsh

Mynah birds? A rage of mynahs (suggestion)

Lu

A Flamboyance of Flamingos!

Andy

Politicians???
A box of chocolates for the best answer!

Tom

A Squabble

Tomtom

Sh*tload ?

Ratio

Embarrassment

June Otto

A group of zebras is a dazzle

R tobias elrod

The list is incomplete without a pandemonium of parrots

Joan B.

My guess is someone just referred to a particular session of Congress as “A Congress of baboons” (or buffoons, as Jus Lookn suggests, above) and it caught on and/or was misunderstood and misapplied to the poor baboons.

Roberta Carraway

I believe a group of wild turkeys is called a rafter.

Wendy Abbott

Jus Lookin Lol You are so right!!

Jus Lookin

Congress is a group of BaFoons!

Barbara

A group of Spoonbills is called a “bowl”

Kim y

A murder of crows got its name from its lookout. One crow is the lookout and if he fails at his job, the other crows will murder him.

Ronald D Sande

Baboons—-A congress. How fitting is that name?

Barco

Nailed it

Susan Higgins

Ronald D. Sande, A group of baboons is called a “troop.” We think the name of “congress” started circulating on the internet incorrectly some time ago.

Gerry Burnie

It would be interesting to know the origin of some of them. I can figure out some, but the rest defy logic.

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