During your southern African safari, you’re bound to learn a mass of new things, and one of them is likely to be a host of collective nouns, called terms of venery, relating to local animal species.
Some of these are incredibly descriptive, some run-of-the-mill, and some humorous, but they’re all worth knowing.
Many terms of venery date back as far as the 15th century where they were first outlined in a work called The Book of St Albans, written by Juliana Berners. This makes her one of the earliest female authors in the history of literature. Oddly, very little is known about this author, although the terms she outlines in it have certainly stood the test of time.
Terms of Venery You Could Encounter on Safari
Here are some of the more amusing collective nouns you may come across during your travels:
A ‘shrewdness of apes’, which far better describes the cunning characteristics of baboons and vervet monkeys than the militarily precise and also correct, ‘troop’.
What could be more descriptive than a ‘bask of crocodiles’ lazing on the shores in the noonday sun, or a ‘bloat of hippos’ floating in the water nearby.
Likewise, a ‘confusion of wildebeest’ describes the scurrying retreat of these bovine-like animals pretty accurately, while a ‘tower of giraffes’ and a ‘crash of rhinoceroses’’ are self-explanatory.
It’s highly unlikely you’ll ever encounter a ‘leap of leopards’ in your lifetime, and you’ll be lucky if you see one of these elusive solitary beasts. Yet, you’ll probably encounter a ‘pride of lions’ living up to their name on a guided game drive.
Other supremely descriptive terms include a ‘busyness of mongoose’, a ‘chattering of starlings’, and a ‘pandemonium of parrots’.
Lesser-known Collective Nouns
Some of the less well-known terms of venery, that are more open to interpretation are:
- *descent of woodpeckers
- *dray of squirrels
- *shiver of sharks
- *bouquet of pheasants
Did you know a group of lions can also be called a ‘sawt’, a herd of zebras are also known as a ‘dazzle’ and a bunch of bees also go by the name ‘grist’?
Whatever name they go by, there’s no denying that Africa’s animals will amaze and delight you throughout your southern African safari.
Book your adventure now, you never know what you might collectively learn along the way!
