1.30.2025 | Thursday

thursday 13: a plethora of animal words

category: Memetastic
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So I’m a die-hard fan of Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar saga. I’ve been reading and rereading it since the very first book in 1987, and the saga is still ongoing. In the roughly 38 years since, I’ve literally never not been reading it. Within the greater world is a series of anthologies containing works by Lackey herself, as well as a score of other writers. Some of those stories form miniseries with related stories in multiple anthologies. One of these is the Animal Mindspeakers miniseries by Elisabeth Waters. Each story is named with an animal collective noun, like “A Murder of Crows.” So today’s list is inspired by this, a list of animal collective nouns.


1. a dazzle of zebras

image: Wikipedia

Many zoologists believe the term “dazzle” refers to the way zebras confuse potential predators, using their stripes as camouflage. When they are in a big group, their stripes become visually chaotic, making it harder for predators to pick individuals out of the crowd.


2. a smack of jellyfish

image: Canadian Wildlife Federation Blog

Some sources say the name refers to the way they smack to sting. Others say it’s onomatopoeia for the sound they make when they are stranded on the beach. Either way, now you know!


3. a labor of moles

image: Discover Wildlife

This name comes from the behavior of moles. They may be a pain in the butt for farmers and gardners, but they are industrious and hardworking. They are known for their constant digging underground, as they create living spaces for their community, always working for the common good of their group.


4. a raft of otters

image: Mental Floss

Otters prefer resting in groups, some as large as 1000 creatures. In order to keep themselves from floating away from each other, otters wrap themselves in seaweed to connect themselves together, creating a formation that resembles a raft.


5. a mutation of thrush

image: Mental Floss

It is believed that the collective name is derived from the medieval belief that the birds shed and then regrew their legs every ten years.


6. a wisdom of wombats

image: PBS Nature

It is thought that this collective term refers to the animals’ self-sufficiency, adaptability, and their large brains. While one of the three species tend to be solitary, the other two are generally much more social and live in burrows in groups of 10-15 others.


7. a destruction/clowder of cats

image: Total Vet

“Destruction” is used to describe feral cats. Why? Because they tend to be very territorial and will fiercely protect what they think is theirs. Because of that, they can often be, well, destructive. “Clowder” likely comes from the Middle English word “clotter,” which means “to huddle together.”


8. a business of ferrets

image: Canadian Wildlife Federation Blog

Most believe “business” comes from the older form of the word, “busyness.” This refers to their very active behavior. They have a penchant for stealing little things and hiding them away.


9. a mess of iguanas

image: Discover Wildlife

Iguanas are called a mess because of their social behavior. They are generally pretty social, living in groups that can be as large as several hundred iguana. Especially as they soak up the sun, they tend to rest intertwined, making it difficult to see where one iguana ends and another begins.


10. a parade of echidnas

image: Daily Mail

This term refers to echidna behavior during breeding seasons. At that time, male echidnas form lines behind their chosen females. They will walk for literal days, even weeks, while the males compete to be the last one standing, who then mates with the female.


11. a conspiracy of lemurs

image: BBC

This term comes from the way lemurs work together to survive. They live together in groups ranging from 10 to 25 lemurs, and they often band together to mob and outwit predators… in other words, they conspire to get the job done.


12. a watch of nightingales

image:  Discover Wildlife

Nightingales sing through the night, at a time when most other birds are quiet. Essentially, they keep watch with their songs. The male nightingales are thought to be single, singing to serenade females migrating above.


13. a richness of martens

image: Loch Lomond Waterfront

Historically, the pelts of martens held great value. Their fur is thick and luxurious, and there was a perception of wealth associated with the pelts.

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