Saturday

A Smack of Jellyfish



You're watching Animal Planet and the camera zooms in on five lions lazing in the sun.  You think, hey, a pride of lions.

In the distance, you notice wildebeest, hundreds of them ... a whole herd.

You glance at the aquarium next to your TV and notice that, as usual, your six neon tetras are moving together in a school.

Then your pack of four Yorkies jumps up on the couch with you, searching for the cheese puffs they know you've dropped.

Pride, herd, school, pack; these are words that describe bunches of the same animal. Easy. 

But what would you call, say, seventeen otters?


A romp, of course.

And several giraffes?

A tower.

Get it?  

There's more and some are crazy...

Let's take a look:














And my favorite....



So what would you call a group of bats?  A belfry?

Ha ha

Comment your idea for an animal group name of your choice!


But meanwhile, did you know...

A group of antelope is called a herd.
A group of ants is called an army or a colony.
A group of apes is called a shrewdness.
A group of baboons is called a troop.
A group of badgers is called a cete.
A group of bass is called a shoal.
A group of bears is called a sleuth or a sloth.
A group of beavers is called a colony.
A group of bees is called a swarm, grist or hive.
A group of birds is called a flock, flight or volery.
A group of boars is called a sounder.
A group of buffalo is called a herd.
A group of bucks is called a brace or clash.
A group of caterpillar is called an army.
A group of cats is called a clowder or clutter.
A group of cattle is called a herd or drove.
A group of chickens is called a brood or peep.
A group of chicks is called a clutch or chattering.
A group of cobras is called a quiver.
A group of colts is called a rag.
A group of cows is called a kine.
Twelve cows is called a flink.
A group of coyotes is called a band.
A group of cranes is called a sedge or siege.
A group of crocodiles is called a float.
A group of crows is called a murder.
A group of cubs is called a litter.
A group of deer is called a herd.
A group of dogs is called a pack.
A group of donkeys is called a herd or pace.
A group of doves is called a dule.
A group of ducks is called a brace, paddling or team.
A group of eagles is called a convocation.
A group of elephants is called a herd or a parade.
A group of seals is called a pod.
A group of elk is called a gang.
A group of emus is called a mob.
A group of falcons is called a cast.
A group of ferrets is called a business.
A group of finches is called a charm.
A group of foxes is called a skulk or leash.
A group of frogs is called an army or colony.
A group of geese is called a flock, gaggle or skein.
A group of gnats is called a cloud or horde.
A group of goldfish is called a troubling.
A group of gorillas is called a band.
A group of greyhounds is called a leash.
A group of hares is called a down or husk.
A group of hawks is called a cast or kettle.
A group of hens is called a brood.
A group of herons is called a hedge.
A group of hogs is called a drift or parcel.
A group of horses is called a team, pair or harras.
A group of hounds is called a pack, mute or cry.
A group of kittens is called a kindle or litter.
A group of larks is called a exaultation.
A group of leopards is called a leep or leap .
A group of lions is called a pride.
A group of magpies is called a tiding.
A group of mallards is called a sord.
A group of martens is called a richness.
A group of moles is called a labor.
A group of mules is called a barren or span .
A group of owls is called a parliament.
A group of parrots is called a company.
A group of partridges is called a covey.
A group of peacocks is called a muster or ostentation.
A group of pheasants is called a nest or bouquet.
A group of plovers is called a congregation.
A group of ponies is called a string.
A group of rattlesnakes is called a rhumba.
A group of ravens is called an unkindness.
A group of rhinos is called a crash.
A group of rooks is called a building or clamor.
A group of snakes is called a nest.
A group of snipes is called a walk or wisp.
A group of sparrows is called a host.
A group of squirrels is called a dray.
A group of starlings is called a murmuration.
A group of storks is called a mustering.
A group of swine is called a sounder or drift.
A group of teals is called a spring.
A group of toads is called a knot.
A group of trout is called a hover.
A group of turkeys is called a rafter.
A group of turtledoves is called a pitying.
A group of turtles is called a bale.
A group of woodcocks is called a fall.
A group of woodpeckers is called a descent .




A Smack of Jellyfish



You're watching Animal Planet and the camera zooms in on five lions lazing in the sun.  You think, hey, a pride of lions.

In the distance, you notice wildebeest, hundreds of them ... a whole herd.

You glance at the aquarium next to your TV and notice that, as usual, your six neon tetras are moving together in a school.

Then your pack of four Yorkies jumps up on the couch with you, searching for the cheese puffs they know you've dropped.

Pride, herd, school, pack; these are words that describe bunches of the same animal. Easy. 

But what would you call, say, seventeen otters?

Wednesday

Can You Really Spy Animals?


Let's have some fun with camouflage!

Take a look at the following images and pick out the animal(s) 
in each one.

And DON'T miss the chameleon video at the very end...it's astounding! Just turn down your speakers; the music is techno-obnoxious.

The answers will be at the end of the post...but leave me a comment and tell me how many you found before peeking!












# 21 Close up - Do you see it now?

Answers

#1 - Peringuey's adder
#2 - Leaf frog
#3 - Gray cicada
#4 - Flower mantis
#5 - Willow ptarmigan
#6 - Burrowing owl
#7 Grizzly bear
#8 - Wolf
#9 - Jaguar
#10 - Deer
#11 - Cheetah
#12 - Snow ermine
#13 - Crocodile
#14 - Indonesian Mimic Octopus
#15 - Giraffe
#16 - Torrent tree frog
#17 - Horned lizard
#18 - American bittern
#19 - Coyote
#20 - Tawny Frogmouth birds
#21 - Green chameleon




Can You Really Spy Animals?


Let's have some fun with camouflage!

Take a look at the following images and pick out the animal(s) 
in each one.

And DON'T miss the chameleon video at the very end...it's astounding! Just turn down your speakers; the music is techno-obnoxious.

The answers will be at the end of the post...but leave me a comment and tell me how many you found before peeking!

Keepin' It Clean


Jingles was a great horse.  He was young, but fairly gentle, and coming along in training as a good cowhorse.

But one day, he wouldn't let his owner slide the bridle over his ears.  No matter what she did, Jingles thwarted her at every turn. He even nipped at her.

The next day, Jingles reared up and struck out when she approached. 
He shook his head, bared his teeth, and made deep discontented noises.

The vet was called to examine Jingles, but he was so wild, he was tranquilized first.  And as he looked the horse over, the vet found something strange.

Three huge ticks were embedded deep inside one of Jingles' ears.  Those ticks, feeding uninterrupted inside his ear, were the reason he was acting crazy. The vet removed the ticks and put them in a jar for us kids to look at...they were each the size of a large marble!

Poor Jingles... if only there'd been an Oxpecker around...



Some animals are at a big disadvantage when it comes to keeping their skin clear of parasites like those ticks.

Fleas, ticks, and other blood-sucking creatures can attach themselves in places that are just plain impossible to reach.  

Inside the ear, like Jingles.

At the back of the neck.  

Even between the teeth. What is a poor animal to do?


God, however, thinks of everything.  

He made "cleaners"; animals that feed on parasites by picking them off other animals.  

Oxpeckers will clean pretty much any animal; giraffes, elephants... even hippos. They get inside ears, around eyes, under the belly; anywhere there's a parasite.

Ghost shrimp, above, are cheeky enough to clean around big toothy mouths as well.  Certain shrimp actually set up "cleaning stations", where fish come to be rid of their parasites.  


Remoras, however, are the cleaning "thrill-seekers"!  They attach themselves to sharks and whales, manta rays and whale sharks, cleaning them of bad stuff.


Giant sunfish are pelagic...that means they cruise the deep oceans; so some pretty weird creatures can attach themselves to their skin.  To get rid of them, sunfish rise to the ocean surface and lay on their sides to entice gulls and albatross to pick off the parasites.  

Moonfish will do the same job for them underwater.

Pretty cool.  

But what about this??
Yep, that plover is nuts.  

But the big question I have is, why aren't the toothier animals tempted to just eat their "cleaners" for lunch?  

Any ideas?  Leave me a comment!


Keepin' It Clean


Jingles was a great horse.  He was young, but fairly gentle, and coming along in training as a good cowhorse.

But one day, he wouldn't let his owner slide the bridle over his ears.  No matter what she did, Jingles thwarted her at every turn. He even nipped at her.

The next day, Jingles reared up and struck out when she approached. 
He shook his head, bared his teeth, and made deep discontented noises.

The vet was called to examine Jingles, but he was so wild, he was tranquilized first.  And as he looked the horse over, the vet found something strange.

Three huge ticks were embedded deep inside one of Jingles' ears.  Those ticks, feeding uninterrupted inside his ear, were the reason he was acting crazy. The vet removed the ticks and put them in a jar for us kids to look at...they were each the size of a large marble!

Poor Jingles... if only there'd been an Oxpecker around...