Today’s Birthday: The Animal Kingdom Thread

On February 18 in 2017 I began a blog thread in honor of my father: The Animal Kingdom. It ran for four years (!) and over forty posts (!!) On the seventh anniversary of its beginning I’m reposting the initial installment. Don’t worry, I’m not going to subject you to all 41 of them again. But feel free to explore on your own. – Jadi

I dedicate this new blog thread to my father Bobbo, who worked for the Forest Service. On one of our last family visits we sat around and gleefully read out a list describing groups of animals … See how many you can guess. Answers listed at the bottom of the page.

  1. The shrewdness shrewdly assessed the jungle floor.
  2. This obstinacy obstinately refused to budge.
  3. The covert covertly hid, migrating only at night.
  4. The big bask basked in the river, seemingly aware nothing would dare attack them.
  5. In spite of myself I was charmed by the pitiful piteousness.
  6. The safe sought safety on the shoreline.
Obstinacy, Perfume River, Vietnam

Answers:

  1. Shrewdness of apes [1]
  2. Obstinacy of buffalo
  3. Covert of coots
  4. Bask of crocodiles
  5. Piteousness of doves
  6. Safe of ducks (on land)
Part of a piteousness, Hampi, India
Bask member basking, Khao Yai National Park, Thailand

NOTES: [1] All 22 species of apes, which include great apes and gibbons, are threatened with extinction. Endangered Species © Jadi Campbell 2017. Previously published as The Animal Kingdom: 1. 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. To see Uwe’s animal photos and pics from our trips go to viewpics.de.

My books are Broken In: A Novel in Stories, Tsunami Cowboys,  Grounded and The Trail Back Out.

Tsunami Cowboys was longlisted for the 2019 ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Award. Broken In: A Novel in Stories was semifinalist for the international 2020 Hawk Mountain Short Story Collection Award from Hidden River Arts and Finalist for Greece’s 2021 Eyelands Book of the Year Award (Short Stories). The Trail Back Out was the 2023 San Francisco Book Festival Winner for General Fiction, American Book Fest 2020 Best Book Award Finalist: Fiction Anthologies, Runner-Up for the 2021 Top Shelf Award, 2021 IAN Book of the Year Award Short Story Collection Finalist, and awarded a 2021 Wishing Shelf Red Ribbon. The title story The Trail Back Out was longlisted for the 2021 ScreenCraft Cinematic Short Story Award.

Click here for my author page to learn more about me and purchase my books.

The Animal Kingdom: 33

We’ve reached Installment #33 of 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. How did the farrow fare?
  2. The ballet performed a water ballet.
  3. Oh, no! The piddle piddled again!
  4. The rumpus caused quite a rumpus.
  5. The circus is no circus.
  6. The brace braced itself against the leash’s leash.
Braces and leashes, Montréal, Canada
  1. Farrow of piglets
  2. Ballet of swans
  3. Piddle of puppies
  4. Rumpus of baboons [1]
  5. Circus of puffins
  6. Brace (2), or leash (3) of dogs [2]
Farrow, Sagaing, Burma

NOTES: [1] Hooray! Baboons are listed as “Least threatened”. I am overjoyed when I can list a species as not about to go extinct. African Wildlife Foundation [2] A brace refers to 2 dogs. A leash of dogs is 3 in number.  © Jadi Campbell 2017. 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 en.wiktionary.orgwww.writers-free-reference.com, Mother Nature Network and www.reference.com.

SPECIAL NOTE: If you try to comment in the wordpress.com reader and get the message “Sorry – there was a problem posting your comment”, click on the title of this post to get to jadicampbell.com and post your comment there. Sorry for the ongoing problem.

Click here for my author page to learn more about me and purchase my books.

The Animal Kingdom: 26

Somewhere my father is grinning with approval at my never-ending blog thread for him! I present installment #26 describing what to call groups of animals … See how many you can guess. Answers listed at the bottom of the page.

  1. The scurry scurried off.
  2. I always fall for a fall in fall. [1]
  3. A hood lived under the hood.
  4. The cover covered the shoreline.
  5. The sawt sawed at the meat.
  6. Is a cowardice cowardly?
Cowardice member, U Bein Bridge, Amarapura, Myanmar

Answers:

  1. Scurry of squirrels
  2. Fall of woodcocks
  3. Hood of snails
  4. Cover of coots
  5. Sawt of lions
  6. Cowardice of curs
Scurry member, Granary Burying Ground est. 1660, Boston, USA
Cover, North Island, New Zealand

NOTES: [1] Known also by the coolest name on the planet for a game bird: the timberdoodle. But no matter what you name it, the species is in decline worldwide. © Jadi Campbell 2017. 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.

Click here for my author page to learn more about my books and me.

The Animal Kingdom: 25

I present installment #25 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 float floats as it waits….
  2. The trip tripped down the trail.
  3. He was squeamish with the squirm.
  4. At their own sound the rhumba rhumbaed!
  5. A movement can move a lot of earth.
  6. The watch watched.
Trip, Mrauk U, Myanmar

Answers:

  1. Float of crocodiles [1]
  2. Trip of goats
  3. Squirm of worms
  4. Rhumba of rattlesnakes
  5. Movement of moles
  6. Watch of nightingales
Float, Laos

NOTES: [1] Sigh. Crocs are on the endangered list. Over half the world’s species of crocodiles will soon go extinct. www.theguardian.com © Jadi Campbell 2017. 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.

Click here for my author page to learn more about my books and me.

The Animal Kingdom: 14

Admit it… you’re a little afraid to find out what this one is…

Here is installment #14 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. An aerie lives in an aerie.
  2. I found the idea of eating a possi impossible.
  3. The lap did laps.
  4. The whisker’s whiskers quivered.
  5. The wedge flew in a wedge.
  6. Does a chine have chins?
Aerie member, protected islands off the coast by Esperance, Australia

Answers:

  • Aerie of eagles [1]
  • Possi of beetles [2]
  • Lap of cod
  • Whisker of shrews
  • Wedge of swans (in the air)
  • Chine of polecats
Yes. Possi, Cambodian bus stop

NOTES: [1] The Endangered Species Act saved America’s iconic bald eagle. We must keep this legislation from being repealed. www.fws.gov [2] www.higherground4x4.com-more-useless-knowledge ©Jadi Campbell 2017. 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.

Click here for my author page to learn more about my books and me.

The Animal Kingdom: 13

Yes. It’s time for another post on animals for your reading amusement: installment #13 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 screech screeched.
  2. Unlike the peapod, this pod is almost extinct.
  3. The flutter fluttered off the rock.
  4. The gaze gazed from under the trees.
  5. Wings winged away across the sand.
  6. The tower towers.
Pod member, Mekong River, Laos border to Cambodia
Screech member, Mallorca

Answers:

  • Screech of gulls
  • Pod of Irrawaddy dolphin [1]
  • Flutter of butterflies [2]
  • Gaze of raccoons [3]
  • Wing of plovers
  • Tower of giraffes
Flutter member

NOTES: [1] Uwe and I made a trip to the Lao-Cambodia border to see this creature before it vanishes forever. Dams being built up-stream probably guarantee the extinction of the Irrawaddy dolphin. [2] The monarch butterfly population has declined by 1/3 since a year ago. www.biologicaldiversity.org [3] Racoons are highly adaptable species; nonetheless, the pygmy raccoon is listed as critically endangered. //www.livescience.com© Jadi Campbell 2017. 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.

Click here for my author page to learn more about my books and me.

The Animal Kingdom: 12

Installment #12 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 streak streaked past!
  2. A scourge is the right name for this scourge…
  3. The maelstrom didn’t survive the maelstrom.
  4. A cloud clouded the twilight.
  5. The cling clings to boles.
  6. The set set up house in the grasslands.
Streak member, Kanha Tiger Reserve, India

Answers:

  1. Streak of tigers [1]
  2. Scourge of mosquitoes
  3. Maelstrom of salamanders [2]
  4. Cloud of bats
  5. Cling of koalas [3]
  6. Set  of badgers
Cloud, Khao Yai National Park, Thailand

NOTES: [1] “Of the original nine subspecies of tigers, three have become extinct in the last 80 years; an average of one every 20 years. It has been predicted all tigers may become extinct in the wild within the next decade. ….Today, four of the remaining subspecies of tigers are considered endangered by the IUCN, while two of the subspecies are considered “critically” endangered. The total number of all the wild populations of the six remaining subspecies of tigers (Bengal, Indochinese, Malayan, Siberian, South China, and Sumatran) is estimated to be between 3,000 – 3,600 tigers.” www.tigersincrisis.com [2] Click here for a chart on salamandars: Amphibians-salamandars [3] “The Arctic Fox, Leatherback Turtle and Koala are among the species destined to be hardest hit by climate change” International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) © Jadi Campbell 2017. 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.

Click here for my author page to learn more about my books and me.

The Animal Kingdom: 11

I present installment #11 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. A walk walks very, very slowly.
  2. When this parade parades by, you can’t miss it.
  3. The building builds on the built building.
  4. The skulk skulks to avoid hunters.
  5. The clutter cluttered the basement.
  6. He didn’t want a kettle in his kettle.
Parade member, Sahakari Spice Farm Goa, India

Answers:

Walk race, Cook Islands
  1. Walk of snails [1]
  2. Parade of elephants [2]
  3. Building of rooks
  4. Skulk of foxes [3]
  5. Clutter of spiders [4]
  6. Kettle of vultures [5]
Clutter, Japan

NOTES: [1] Scientific American reports that snails are going extinct. scientificamerican.com [2] Yup, the planet’s largest land mammal is on the list. WWF [3] The fox is in danger of going extinct. People’s Trust for Endangered Species [4] Sigh. Spiders make the list, too. Go to the following website for a partial listing of endangered spider species: www.earthsendangered.com  [5] And go to this site for a list of threatened vulture species: Mother Nature Network © Jadi Campbell 2017. 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.

Click here for my author page to learn more about my books and me.

The Animal Kingdom: 10

This is installment #10 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. He parceled out food to the parcel.
  2. The bob bobbed.
  3. I added an herb bouquet to the cooking bouquet.
  4. The pack thinks this part of Australia should be called the Outpack.
  5. The pace set a slow pace.
  6. How the charm charmed me!
Parcel, Chin village, Myanmar
I’m a pack member, mate!

Answers:

  1. Parcel of pigs
  2. Bob of seals [1]
  3. Bouquet of pheasant
  4. Pack of dingos [2]
  5. Pace of asses
  6. Charm of hummingbirds [3]
Parcel part
Bob, protected sea life islands near Woody Island, Esperance, Australia

NOTES: [1] The gray seal flourishes, while other species need protecting. www.seals-world.com [2] The Australian dingo could become extinct. Australia & Pacific Science Foundation [3] 34 species of the world’s charming, second-largest bird family are threatened with extinction. hummingbirdsociety.org © Jadi Campbell 2017. 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.

Click here for my author page to learn more about my books and me.

The Animal Kingdom: A Cluster

One of the exotic foods I have (NOT!) eaten is a Cambodian treat of crispy fried big black hairy spiders. Sold at a roadside stop when the bus from Phnom Penh thoughtfully stopped for a bathroom break.

Crispy Fried Big Black Hairy Spiders .. who doesn't love 'em?
Crispy Fried Big Black Hairy Spiders .. who doesn’t love ’em?

Actually, this post belongs to my blog thread describing what to call groups of animals. Here I give you: a cluster of spiders. Realize that these are (were) each about the size of my closed fist, and you will understand why I lost my appetite.

The spider in the next photo was as large as the span of my whole hand….

Really, you don’t even wanna imagine a cluster of these guys in Northern Laos
How about a cluster of these spiders – also gigantic – from Japan?

I can’t imagine eating these spiders. Or the scorpions, or larvae, or bugs fried up at various markets we’ve visited…. But they are a source of protein. “Over 1,000 species of insects are known to be eaten in 80% of the world’s nations. The total number of ethnic groups recorded to practice entomophagy is around 3,000. …Today insect eating is rare in the developed world, but insects remain a popular food in many regions of Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. …FAO has registered some 1900 edible insect species and estimates there were in 2005 some 2 billion insect consumers worldwide.” [1]

NOTES: © Jadi Campbell 2017. 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. Go to this Wikipedia page: /List of endangered spiders. [1] The practice of eating insects is known as entomophagy Wikipedia: Entomophagy

Click here for my author page to learn more about my books  and me.

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