Save the Animal Kingdom! #8

Here is installment #8 from my blog thread describing what to call groups of animals … most of them endangered or vulnerable. See how many you can guess. Answers listed at the bottom of the page.

1. The roll rolled up tight.
2. The flight took flight.
3. You don’t want this wake at a wake.
4. We spotted three stands standing on the beach.
5. The parliament looked parliamentary and regal indeed.
6. The risk risks being turned into dinner.

Parliament, Madeira

Answers:

1. Roll of armadillos [1]
2. Flight of butterflies [2]
3. Wake of buzzards
4. Stand of plovers (on land) [3]
5. Parliament of owls [4]
6. Risk of lobster [5]

Flight, back trails Cranberry Lake, Adirondacks USA

I’m beyond dismayed – I am furious. The Trump administration is gutting environmental protections. Take action. Volunteer. Speak up! Write letters, make phone calls, donate to organizations like the Environmental Defense Fund and Greenpeace.

NOTES: [1] Giant armadillos are listed as endangered and may go extinct. Zoo Conservation Outreach [2] “Bumblebees, beetles and butterflies are at greater risk of extinction than lions and tigers, according to a global study by the Zoological Society of London.” www.telegraph.co.uk [3] While Piping Plovers have increased in number in recent years, the species is still listed under the Endangered Species Act. It is considered Endangered in the Great Lakes region and Threatened in the remainder of its U.S. breeding range. The species is also listed as Endangered in Canada. [4] There are 227 species of typical owls, 24 of which are Vulnerable, 13 Endangered, and three Critically Endangered birdlife [5] On September 28, 2016, Food&Wine Magazine wrote that Maine lobster are in trouble thanks to global warming. © Jadi Campbell 2025. All photos © Uwe Hartmann. To see more of Uwe’s animal photos and pics from our trips go to viewpics.de.  Fun animal names from www.writers-free-reference.com, Mother Nature Network and www.reference.com.

I am a Best American Essays-nominated writer. My books are Broken In: A Novel in Stories, Tsunami Cowboys, Grounded, The Trail Back Out, and The Taste of Your Name. Recent awards include Finalist for the 2025 Compass Press Book Award for The Taste of Your Name and Finalist for Greece’s Eyelands 11th International Short Story Contest.

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Save the Animal Kingdom! #7

I present to you installment #7 from my blog thread describing what to call groups of animals … See how many you can guess. Answers listed at the bottom of the page. (I’m especially proud of No. 5 on this week’s list!)

1. Their knot knotted in the mud.
2. He heard the murmuration’s murmurs.
3. Unblinking, the stare stared back.
4. The dole didn’t look doleful.
5. The earth’s earth was in the earth. ***
6. Stuffy noses don’t suit a sute.

Stare, Raptor rescue center, Australia

Dole, Wong Tai Sin Medicine Temple, New Territories, China

Answers:

1. Knot of toads [1]
2. Murmuration of starlings
3. Stare of owls [2]
4. Dole of turtles [3]
5. Earth of foxes; place the vixen (female fox) searches out to raise her kits; ground she finds the earth in. ***3 uses of the word! [4]
6. Sute of bloodhounds

Knot member, back trails Cranberry Lake, Adirondacks USA

I’m beyond dismayed – I am furious. The Trump administration is gutting environmental protections. Take action. Speak up! Write letters, make phone calls, donate to organizations like the Environmental Defense Fund and Greenpeace. Volunteer.

NOTES: [1] In the last 30 years the toad population in England alone has plummeted 70%. www.telegraph.co.uk [2] Around one-third of owl species in the world are endangered or at risk. Owls reference page [3] “Of the 207 species of turtle and tortoise alive today, 129 of them are listed by IUCN as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered.” Tree Hugger [4] In 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Sierra Nevada red fox under the Endangered Species Act. Trump wants to remove the Endangered Species Act. ©Jadi Campbell 2025. All photos ©Uwe Hartmann or Jadi Campbell. To see more of Uwe’s animal photos and pics from our trips go to viewpics.de.  Fun animal names from www.writers-free-reference.com, Mother Nature Network and www.reference.com.

I am a Best American Essays-nominated writer. My books are Broken In: A Novel in Stories, Tsunami Cowboys, Grounded, The Trail Back Out, and The Taste of Your Name. Recent awards include Finalist for the 2025 Compass Press Book Award for The Taste of Your Name and Finalist for Greece’s Eyelands 11th International Short Story Contest.

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Save the Animal Kingdom #3

Here is the third installment from my blog thread describing what to call groups of animals … See how many you can guess. Answers listed at the bottom of the page.

1. The charm charmed me again with their singing.
2. A huge cloud clouded the sky, and ruined any chance of a good photo.
3. The band banded together, hoping no one would notice.
4. A blue fluther fluthered in the tide. [1]
5. A mob mobbed Uluru.
6. The squadron flew off in a squadron. [2]

Answers:

1. Charm or chirm of finches
2. Cloud of gnats
3. Band of gorillas [3]
4. Fluther of jellyfish [4]
5. Mob of kangaroos [5]
6. Squadron of pelicans

Fluther, Loro Parque, Tenerifa

Squadron

NOTES:  [1] There are 3 wonderful names for jellyfish groups. Fluther is the second [2] A military flight formation [3] Status: Endangered to Critically Endangered WWF [4] Using fluther in a sentence even allowed me to make up a verb! [5] According to the IUCN Red List, tree kangaroos range from near threatened to critically endangered across the various species. Intl Fund for Animal Welfare

Band, Loro Parque, Tenerifa

I’m beyond dismayed – I am furious. The Trump administration is gutting environmental protections. Take action. Speak up! Write letters, make phone calls, donate to organizations like the Environmental Defense Fund and Greenpeace.

[1] https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-04-05/trump-is-gutting-the-nations-environmental-programs-heres-how-much-it-will-cost-americans © Jadi Campbell 2025. All photos © Uwe Hartmann. To see Uwe’s pics from our trips go to viewpics.de. Fun animal names from www.writers-free-reference.com, Mother Nature Network and www.reference.com.

I am a Best American Essays-nominated writer. My books are Broken In: A Novel in Stories, Tsunami Cowboys, Grounded, The Trail Back Out, and The Taste of Your Name. My most recent book The Taste of Your Name was a finalist for the 2025 Compass Press Book Award.

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Save the Animal Kingdom #2

This is the second installment from my blog thread describing what to call groups of animals … See how many you can guess. Answers listed at the bottom of the page.

1. “Double double, toil and trouble, fire burn and caldron bubble,” she cackled. Then the witch threw another cauldron into the caldron. [1]
2. The prickle prickled no one that day.
3. And the clutch clutched at the edges of the baskets.
4. Exaltation exalted the evening with the complex songs of the family Alaudidae.
5. A smack smacks into goo on the rocks.
6. The romping romp are some of my favorite critters.

Prickle, Laos

Answers:

1. Cauldron of bats [2]
2. Prickle of porcupines
3. Clutch of birds
4. Exaltation of larks
5. Smack of jellyfish [3]
6. Romp of otters [4]

Smack, Loro Parque, Tenerifa

Cauldron, Khao Yai National Park, Thailand

I’m beyond dismayed – I am furious. The Trump administration is gutting environmental protections. Take action. Speak up! Write letters, make phone calls, donate to organizations like the Environmental Defense Fund and Greenpeace.

NOTES: https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-04-05/trump-is-gutting-the [-nations-environmental-programs-heres-how-much-it-will-cost-americans  [1] Shakespeare Macbeth, Act IV, Scene 1. [2] Bats are one of the world’s most endangered species. As of 2017, 77 bats are listed as Endangered and Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Bat Conservation International batcon.org  [3] Many species of Jellyfish are listed as vulnerable Barrier Reef.org [4] Sea otters are Endangered IUCN © Jadi Campbell 2025. All photos © Uwe Hartmann. To see more of Uwe’s animal photos and pics from our trips go to viewpics.de.  Fun animal names from www.writers-free-reference.com, Mother Nature Network and www.reference.com.

I am a Best American Essays-nominated writer. My books are Broken In: A Novel in Stories, Tsunami Cowboys, Grounded, The Trail Back Out, and The Taste of Your Name. My most recent book The Taste of Your Name was a finalist for the 2025 Compass Press Book Award.

Follow this link for Amazon.com.