Crazy and Stupid collective nouns of Animals

Last Updated on June 11, 2023

It never ceased to amaze me who came up with these stupid and crazy names for these animals. I bet, had some of the animals understood what these names meant they would have hunted down and killed everyone in the English department. So, If not in the English department, I guess, they must have found their origin in Mental Ward with patients whose treatments included psychedelic drugs.

I here speculate on the origin of some of the names. But, others are true stories received directly from intelligence services.

Table of Contents

A zeal of Zebra
A pack of Wolves
A gang of Turkeys
A Knot of Toads
An Ambush or Streak of Tigers
A Parliament of Owls
An Army of Frogs
A School of Fish
A Litter of Puppies or Kitten
A Murder of Crows
A Parade of Elephants
A Business of Ferrets

A zeal of Zebra

Zeal also means enthusiastic, but Zebra looks like just a donkey with 2 colors. There is nothing zeal about zebras. I wonder what other names, much stronger than zeal, would we have used if it had colors? This makes me think that some color blind must have come up with this collective noun or every English man and woman was color blind back then.

I get that for the color blind, the appearance of the rest of the animals should look dull with no clear pattern on them without any colors. But, zebra’s black and white provide rich contrast and therefore, is a zeal to the eyes of the color blind.

A pack of Wolves

are they a pack? They don’t fit in a pack. When were they carried in a pack? Can I get a pack of Wolves from Amazon?

A gang of Turkeys

Oooooh, I am so afraid of the gang. I can’t let my head out of the house. Are they still a gang even during Thanksgiving?

A Knot of Toads

Ugh! My goodness! We know that we always think of toads when we need a knot.

An Ambush or Streak of Tigers

This one I have to say I agree with. Who isn’t afraid of tigers. No one wants to mess with its name.

A Parliament of Owls

Come on! they don’t even know they are in parliament. What do they debate in parliament? Whether to come out during the day or not?

An Army of Frogs

This is a total disgrace to an army of soldiers. If they are really an army, let them win a war with an army of soldiers. Perhaps, who knows they would have won a war in history and this is how they got their name in the first place.

A School of Fish

Which school is that? are they ever going to graduate from the school? I would happily join If I don’t have to take a student loan.

A Litter of Puppies or Kitten

Well, if there is any litter, I want to know what stopping the health and hygiene department from dumping them in, you know, where litters belong, a DUMPSTER.

A Murder of Crows

They are very much alive to me. Instead, they look like they have just murdered someone and they are proud of it.

A Parade of Elephants

If they are a parade, why do they also simply stand, sit, sleep and swim? Maybe, Elephants are unaware that they are a parade.

A Business of Ferrets

I don’t doubt this either as all the customers have fallen prey to their marketing stunt – the Weasel war dance.

Reference:

https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/word-lists/list-of-names-for-groups-of-animals.html