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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.
