A group of wallabies is called a mob, the same term used for their larger cousins, kangaroos, and for the wider macropod family in general.
Unlike many of the English language’s more whimsical collective nouns, “mob” isn’t a medieval hunting term dressed up for effect. It’s a plain, practical word borrowed from everyday English, and it fits: wallaby groupings are loose, informal, and driven more by shared grazing ground than by any tight social structure.
What Is a Group of Wallabies Called?
“Mob” is essentially the only widely recognized collective noun for wallabies. You may occasionally see troop used informally in the same way, echoing language sometimes applied to other macropods, but “mob” is by far the standard term across reference sources.
Where Did the Name Come From?
Wallabies are native to Australia and New Guinea, so they were entirely unknown to the medieval English writers who compiled the whimsical “terms of venery” in the Book of Saint Albans (1486). There was no folk tradition of hunting terminology waiting to be applied to them.
Instead, “mob” appears to be a straightforward borrowing from everyday English, most likely coined by European settlers in Australia from the 18th century onward. “Mob” already meant a crowd or loosely gathered group in ordinary usage, and it was a natural, practical fit for describing wallabies and kangaroos moving and grazing together without any rigid formation. It’s a much more matter-of-fact origin than most of England’s older collective nouns, and part of why it feels so distinctly Australian.
Wallaby Facts
- Habitat: Native to Australia and New Guinea, wallabies live in a range of environments depending on species, from woodlands and grasslands to rocky outcrops and dense scrub.
- Social behavior: Loosely social. Wallabies often forage alone or in small groups, gathering into larger, informal mobs mainly where food is abundant, offering some safety in numbers rather than forming a fixed social unit.
- Diet: Herbivorous, feeding mainly on grasses, leaves, and shrubs.
- Lifespan: Typically around 9 to 15 years in the wild, depending on the species.
- Built to hop: Like kangaroos, wallabies are macropods with powerful hind legs built for hopping, and females carry their young, called joeys, in a front pouch.
- Surprising range: A wild population of red-necked wallabies has lived on the Isle of Man, off the coast of Britain, since a group escaped from a wildlife park in the 1960s. Their numbers have grown into the hundreds.
Example Sentences
- A mob of wallabies grazed quietly at the edge of the woodland as the sun went down.
- The hikers startled a small mob of wallabies resting in the tall grass.
- Photographers waited patiently for the mob of wallabies to move into better light.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a group of wallabies called?
A group of wallabies is called a mob, the same term used for kangaroos and other macropods.
Do wallabies actually live in tight social groups?
Not really. Wallabies are loosely social. They often forage alone or in small groups and gather into larger mobs mainly where food is plentiful, rather than maintaining a fixed group structure.
Why is it called a mob instead of a more traditional collective noun?
Wallabies are native to Australia and were unknown to the medieval English tradition that produced older, more poetic collective nouns. Mob is a practical term borrowed from everyday English, most likely coined by settlers in Australia.
What’s the difference between a wallaby and a kangaroo?
Both are macropods, but wallabies are generally smaller than kangaroos, with shorter legs relative to their body size. “Wallaby” isn’t a single species but a general term covering many smaller macropod species.
Are there wild wallabies outside Australia?
Yes. A well-known wild population of red-necked wallabies lives on the Isle of Man, descended from animals that escaped a wildlife park in the 1960s. Their numbers have grown into the hundreds.
How do wallabies carry their young?
Like other macropods, female wallabies carry their young, called joeys, in a front-facing pouch until they’re developed enough to leave it.
Related: Collective Nouns for Mammals