GOING ON SAFARI TO AFRICA? THIS INTERESTING INFORMATION IS WELL WORTH READING.
COLLECTIVE NAMES OF AFRICAN MAMMALS
Species Collective noun
Antelope herd, cluster, tribe
Apes shrewdness, troop
Badgers cete, colony
Cats (Wild) destruction, dowt, dout
Cheetah coalition
Elephant parade, herd
Giraffe tower, corps, journey, group
Hedgehogs array, prickle
Hippo raft, pod, bloat, thunder, school
Hyaena clan
Impala rank
Jackal skulk
Leopard leap, lepe
Lion pride, sault, sowse
Monkeys shrewdness, cartload, troop, troup
Mongoose business
Pigs (Wild) sounder
Rhino crash, stubbornness, herd
Wild Dog pack
Wildebeest implausibility, herd
Zebra dazzle, zeal, cohort
AFRICAN WILD MAMMAL NAME ORIGINS
Aardvark - Afrikaans word translation “earth pig” as ears and nose resemble those of a pig, also burrows a lot
Bat-eared fox – Refers to the big ears resembling those of an egyptian slit-faced bat
Blesbok – Afrikaans word translation “bald buck” referring to the white blaze on the face
Bushbaby – Lives in the “bush” and their call sounds like that of a crying baby
Caracal – From the Turkish name “garah-gulak” meaning black ear, with reference to the black ear tufts
Cheetah – Hindu word “chita” meaning “spotted one”
Duiker – Afrikaans word meaning “diver” from the action of the antelope when running away
Eland – Dutch word “elphas” and latin word “elehantus” for the species
Gemsbok – Dutch word “gems” meaning chamois in reference to colour
Genet – Name of an area in Spain the species inhabited in the 18th century
Giraffe – Arabic word “xirapha” meaning “one who walks swiftly”
Hartebeest – Afrikaans word translation “heart cow” with reference to the shape of the horns
Hippopotamus – Greek “(h)ippo” meaning horse, and “pot-amus” meaning flowing river – a river horse
Honey Badger – Eats honey, badger from the French word “becheur” meaning digger
Impala – Zulu name “imphala” and Tswana name “phala” for the species
Jackal – Persian name “sagal” for the golden jackal
Klipspringer – Afrikaans word translation “stone jumper” with reference to the bounding action in rocky habitat
Kudu – Khoikhoi name for the species
Leopard – Greek word “pardus” for panther and “leo” for lion, shortened to leopard from leopardus
Lion – Greek word “leon” for the species
Mongoose – Indian name “mangus” for the species
Nyala – Zulu name “iNxala” for the species
Pangolin – Malay name for “peng-goling” for the species, which means “the roller” from their habit of rolling into a ball for protection
Porcupine – Greek word “porcus” meaning pig and “spina” meaning species, direct translation “spined pig”
Rhinoceros – Greek word “rhis” meaning nose and “keras” meaning horn, direct translation “nose horn”
Springbok – Afrikaans meaning “jumping buck” in reference to their unique jumping action called “pronking”
Warthog – Refers to the outgrowths or warts on the face
Zebra – Portuguese or Italian name of the species in the Congo Region
For Interesting African Animal facts with corresponding photos, visit our website under Wild News.
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