# Animal grouping

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-grouping/8631>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 15, 2000, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-grouping/8631 "2000-03-15T09:02:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Goof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/76d3ee/32.png) [@Goof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Goof)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2000, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-grouping/8631/1 "2000-03-15T09:02:00Z")

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The name of the type of grouping used with different types of animals IE :pack of wolves , pride of lions , school of fish , pod of whales and so on and so on. I would like to look up more of these types of names but dont know where to start. If you know anything please help me out. Thanks Goof

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**Author:** ![aseymayo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@aseymayo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aseymayo)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2000, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-grouping/8631/2 "2000-03-15T09:45:00Z")

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They’re called “terms of venery” and there’s a wonderful book, “An Exaltation of Larks” by James Lipton, which is a collection of some of the more unusual (and sadly, unused) terms.

A peep of chickens.  
A paddling of ducks.  
A labor of moles.

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**Author:** ![Commander\_Fortune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Commander\_Fortune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commander_Fortune)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2000, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-grouping/8631/3 "2000-03-15T11:30:00Z")

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a galleon of bloodthirsty pirates  
a band of raving gypsies  
a fuschia of drag-queens

oh…wait - - nevermind.

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**Author:** ![Beruang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@Beruang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beruang)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2000, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-grouping/8631/4 "2000-03-16T07:49:00Z")

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surfing to the rescue…

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**Author:** ![Beruang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@Beruang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beruang)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2000, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-grouping/8631/5 "2000-03-16T07:52:00Z")

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Sorry – I hit the wrong key. Let’s try that again…  
[http://randomhouse.com/wotd/?date=19990730](http://randomhouse.com/wotd/?date=19990730)

OK, now if I only can wait 60 seconds to get around the automatic flooding detection…

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“The dawn of a new era is felt and not measured.” Walter Lord