From prides of lions to pods of whales, discover the traditional and whimsical collective nouns for mammals.
🐃 Mammals · Collective Nouns What Is a Group of Wildebeest Called? The animal behind the largest overland migration on Earth. 💬 A group of wildebeest is called a herd. Wildebeest herds are famous for the Great Migration, an annual journey of over a million animals across the Serengeti and Maasai Mara in search of … Read more
A group of mongoose is called a troop.
🐋 Mammals · Collective Nouns What Is a Group of Whales Called? The everyday term, and the old whaling-ship word for a very specific kind of gathering at sea. Quick answer: A group of whales is most commonly called a pod of whales, especially for toothed whales like orcas. You’ll also see gam, an old … Read more
A group of wild boar is called a sounder.
A group of moles is called a labour.
A group of baboons is most often called a congress, a term that pokes fun at the loud, chaotic, highly social nature of baboon life by borrowing language usually reserved for political assemblies. Baboons are some of the most intensely social primates in Africa, living in large, complex groups with constant negotiation, alliance-building, and, yes, … Read more
📖 Collective Noun Lookup What Animals Form a Drift? Not snow — a real, still-practiced word for the annual round-up of common-grazing livestock. 💬 “Drift” is a collective noun for boars, cattle, and hogs — a term that comes directly from the real, centuries-old practice of driving livestock together across common land for inspection and … Read more
Collective Nouns · Mammals · Animal Facts What Is a Group of Hamsters Called? All Collective Nouns, Explained Hamsters are famously solitary, so the collective noun for a group of them is more about hoarding instinct than togetherness. Here’s what it’s called and why. 📖 6 min read 🐇 Mammal Series 🔍 Updated August 2026 … Read more
A group of coyotes is called a band, a term that reflects the small, tight-knit family units in which these adaptable predators most often live. Coyotes are native to North America, and unlike many of English’s animal collective nouns, their terminology didn’t come from medieval hunting tradition, coyotes simply weren’t part of that world. Instead, … Read more
A group of ferrets is called a business — a fittingly energetic name for an animal that rarely sits still. Ferrets are small, social mustelids known for their restless curiosity, and “business” captures that perfectly: it’s one of the few collective nouns whose personality fits the animal it describes almost too well. Alongside “business,” a … Read more