Save the Animal Kingdom! #15

Ah… the never-ending blog thread about what groups of animals are called. All no longer protected…. See how many you can guess. Answers listed at the bottom.

1. A pomp really is pretty pompous.
2. The wriggle wriggled.
3. People surfeit fast on a surfeit.
4. The grin grinned.
5. The paddling paddled off.
6. He drove the drove.

Answers:

1. Pomp of Pekinese
2. Wriggle of worms [1]
3. Surfeit of skunks [2]
4. Grin of opossums
5. Paddling of ducks (on water) [3]
6. Drove of cattle

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

NOTES: [1] Larvae, actually. But you get the idea…. [2] The Striped Skunk is currently the chief carrier of rabies in the U.S. Present status of the less common Spotted skunk: Endangered. Missouri Dept of Conservation The pygmy spotted skunk (Spilogale pygmaea) and the eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius) are listed as “Vulnerable.” PBS  [3] The blue billed duck and freckled ducks of Australia are threatened. duck.org.au © 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 awards are 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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