Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
THE LAKE – Who comes up with the names of various groups of animals? If it were me, the names would probably be standardized and relevant. Lots of things come in packs, such as playing cards. So I'd probably use the term "pack" — currently used for a group of wolves — and apply it to everything. That way, it would be practical and easy to remember.
But somebody decided that approach would be super boring. So, they came up with the following:
- Congregation of alligators
- Shrewdness of apes
- Cauldron of bats
- Sleuth of bears
- Pace of donkeys
- Raft of ducks
- Business of ferrets
- Tower of giraffes
- Bloat of hippopotamuses
- Cackle of hyenas
- Leap of leopards
- Richness of martens
- Parliament of owls
- Embarrassment of pandas
- Gaze of raccoons
- Mischief of rats
- Crash of rhinos
- Surfeit of skunks
- Dray of squirrels
- Knot of toads
- Bale of turtles
- Flamboyance of flamingos
Those group names are all real. Or, at least, I think they are. And somebody put a lot of time into coming up with them. Even though some seem unnecessarily random, I think others are appropriate. For example, the prickle of porcupines is fun. And the tower of giraffes makes sense.
After watching this video, I have to agree that "flamboyance" is the perfect name for a group of flamingos.
Even if we lived in a boring world where all animal groups were called packs, I think these amazing flamingos would deserve their own special name.