- Captain Neil McDermott
What do you call a group of...?
Some of us including me have heard that the name for a group of Baboons is called a Congress and one might see the coincidence with the that branch of government's approval ratings. However, according to Neil’s, “ThatAin’tRight.ForReals.Com” (my own personal fact finding pseudo-organization), I have concluded this is absolute hooey or whatever term you might apply to falsehoods. A group of Baboons is in fact called, a Troop.
Okay enough about terrestrial species. There are some interesting and funny terms for the collective nouns given to the species we frequently observe on our expeditions. My top three favorites are: A group of Loons is called an Asylum, a group of Murres is called a Fragrance (you can imagine why I would have thought it would be an Odor) and A group of Porpoise is called a Turmoil.
Here’s the complete list!
Murres – Bizarre or Fragrance
Eagles – convocation or aerie
Cormorants – gulp or flight
Puffins - colony, a puffinry, a circus, a burrow, a gathering, or an improbability
Rhinoceros Auklets - colony, loomery, or raft
Seagulls – colony, despite the popular group name from the 80’s it is not a flock of seagulls
Loons – Asylum, Cry or Waterdance
Ducks - flock, brace, raft, team or paddling
Whales – gam, herd, mob, Pod or run
Porpoise – crowd, herd, pod, school, shoal, turmoil
Sealions - When a group of sea lions is on land, its known as a colony. However, if the group is in the water, it is a raft. A group of female sea lions that belong to one bull is known as a harem.
Seals - bob. harem. herd. pod. rookery
Otters - romp, bevy, lodge, family, raft
Bears - sloth or a sleuth
Jelly fish - a bloom, smack or swarm
Sea Stars – galaxy, constellation or a school
Urchins – herd
