From prides of lions to pods of whales, discover the traditional and whimsical collective nouns for mammals.
A group of lions is called a pride — one of the most recognizable collective nouns in the English language, and one of the few that’s actually earned its reputation for accuracy. Unlike many collective nouns, which were coined for humor or whimsy and bear little relation to how an animal actually behaves, “pride” reflects … Read more
🦔 Mammals · Collective Nouns What Is a Group of Porcupines Called? A perfectly literal name for one of nature’s spikiest rodents. 💬 A group of porcupines is called a prickle, one of the more directly descriptive collective nouns in English, pointing straight at the animal’s defining feature: thousands of sharp, barbed quills. Quick Facts … Read more
🦊 Mammals · Collective Nouns What Is a Group of Silver Foxes Called? A luxurious old fur-trade name for a strikingly colored fox variant. 💬 A group of silver foxes is called a richness. Silver foxes aren’t a separate species, but a striking dark color variant of the red fox, historically prized in the fur … Read more
📖 Collective Noun Lookup What Animals Form a Down? Not feather-soft — this one’s named after the hills the animals grazed on. 💬 “Down” is a collective noun for hares and sheep — and despite the tempting connection to soft bird feathers, it almost certainly comes from a completely different source: the rolling grassland hills … Read more
🐴 Mammals · Collective Nouns What Is a Group of Ponies Called? Small in stature, but with a working vocabulary borrowed from full-sized horses. 💬 A group of ponies is called a string, with herd and riot also used depending on context. String is the same working term used for horses kept and trained together … Read more
🦧 Mammals · Collective Nouns What Is a Group of Orangutans Called? A whimsical collective noun for the great ape that spends nearly all its life alone. Quick answer: A group of orangutans is called a buffoonery of orangutans — a playful, whimsical collective noun that shows up far more often in word lists than … Read more
🐴 Mammals · Collective Nouns What Is a Group of Colts Called? Young, energetic, and not yet fully grown into the vocabulary of adult horses. 💬 A group of colts is called a rag, with rake used as an older alternate. A colt is specifically a young male horse under four years old, distinct from … Read more
🐾 Mammals · Collective Nouns What Is a Group of Hyenas Called? The biologically accurate term, and the whimsical one that plays on their famous laugh. Quick answer: A group of hyenas is most accurately called a clan of hyenas — the term biologists actually use for spotted hyenas’ complex, matriarchal social groups. Cackle is … Read more
🐆 What is a Group of Cheetahs Called? A group of cheetahs is called a coalition. Unlike many collective nouns that are purely poetic, coalition closely reflects real cheetah behavior, especially among males that form small alliances to hunt, travel, and defend territory together. Quick Answer A group of cheetahs is most commonly called a … Read more
A group of leopards is called a leap.