A cartoon herd of kangaroos hopping across the Australian Outback while a cowboy on horseback and a herding dog try to round them up.

A Herd of Kangaroos

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A cartoon herd of kangaroos hopping across the Australian Outback while a cowboy on horseback and a herding dog try to round them up.
A group of kangaroos is sometimes called a herd, though mob is by far the more common term.

What Does “A Herd of Kangaroos” Mean?

“Herd” is the generic, catch-all English word for a group of grazing mammals, and it works well enough for kangaroos, which do gather in loose grazing groups called “mobs” for safety and social contact. Its use for kangaroos, though, is largely overshadowed by “mob,” which is the term Australians actually use in everyday speech, and the one that’s become the internationally recognized standard.

Kangaroo groups aren’t tightly bonded family units the way some herd animals are; a mob’s membership shifts fluidly, with individuals joining and leaving as they move between feeding areas, more of a loose association than a coordinated herd in the traditional sense.

Example: “A herd of kangaroos grazed lazily in the shade as the afternoon heat set in.”

Related: Collective Nouns for Mammals · What Is a Group of Kangaroo Called? · A Mob of Kangaroos · A Court of Kangaroos · A Troop of Kangaroos · What Animals Form a Herd?

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