Collective names:
Antelope – herd, cluster, tribe
Apes – cunning, troop
Badgers – cete, colony
Cats (wild) – destruction, dowt, doubt
Cheetah – coalition
Elephant – parade, herd
Giraffe – tower, body, travel, group
Hedgehogs – womb, pimple
Hippopotamus – raft, pod, bloat, thunder, school
Hyaena – clan
Impala – range
Jackal – skulk
Leopard – jump, lepe
Lion – pride, sault, sowse
Monkeys: cunning, cart, troop, troop
Mongoose – business
Pigs (wild) – probe
Rhino – shock, stubbornness, herd
Wild dog – pack
Wildebeest – implausibility, herd
Zebra – glare, heat, cohort
Origins of the name:
Aardvark: translation of the Afrikaans word “land pig”, since the ears and nose resemble those of a pig, they are also buried a lot.
Bat-eared fox: refers to the large ears that resemble those of the Egyptian bat with the face cut off
Blesbok: translation of the Afrikaans word “bald buck”, which refers to the white glow on the face
Bushbaby: lives in the “jungle” and his call sounds like a crying baby
Caracal: from the Turkish name “garah-gulak” which means black ear, with reference to the black tufts of the ears.
Cheetah: Hindu word “chita” which means “one spotted”
Duiker: Afrikaans that means “diver” for the action of the antelope when it flees
Eland: Dutch word for moose, believed to be related or similar
Elephant: Greek word “elphas” and Latin word “elephantus” for the species
Gemsbok: Dutch word “gems” which means suede in reference to color.
Genet: Name of the area in Spain where the species lived in the 18th century.
Giraffe: Arabic word “xirapha” which means “someone who walks quickly”
Hartebeest: translation of the Afrikaans word “cow heart” with reference to the shape of the horns
Hippo: Greek “(h) ippo” which means horse, and “pot-amus” which means river that flows ñ a river horse
Honey Badger: eat honey, badger from the French word “becheur” which means digger
Impala: Zulu name “imphala” and tswana name “phala” for the species
Jackal: Persian name “sagal” for the golden jackal.
Klipspringer: translation of the Afrikaans word “stone jumper” with reference to jumping action in rocky habitat
Kudu: Khoikhoi name of the species
Leopard: Greek words “pardus” for panther and “leo” for lion, abbreviated as leopard for leopardus.
Lion: Greek word “lion” for the species.
Mongoose: Indian name “mangus” for the species
Nyala: Zulu name “iNxala” for the species
Pangolin: Malay name of “peng-goling” for the species, which means “the roller” for its habit of rolling in a ball to protect itself.
Porcupine: Greek word “porcus” which means pig and “thorn” which means species, direct translation “prickly pig”
Rhinoceros: Greek word “rhis” which means nose and “keras” which means horn, direct translation “nose horn”
Springbok: Afrikaans meaning “jump back” in reference to its unique jumping action called “pronking”.
Warthog: refers to growths or warts on the face.
Zebra: Portuguese or Italian name of the species in the Congo region.