Specific designations describe groups of animals. You probably know it’s a flock of sheep, a school of fish, and a pride of lions. A herd of cattle? Actually, it’s a drove of cattle. Elephants come in herds.
A litter of pups and a kindle of kittens. Cats, however, come in clowders.
It’s a colony of ants, but a plague of locusts. Plague certainly makes sense to me on that one.
The equine family of animals has a number of group designations depending on size, age, and species: It’s a harras of horses, but a string of ponies. Colts are found in rags. Mules, on the other hand, occur in barrens. But it’s a pace of asses.
A group of hogs is a drift, but if you’re talking about a congregation of swine (with a few pigs and boars thrown in for good measure), you’d have a sounder.
Elk come in gangs, but roebucks come in bevies.
We know elephants occur in herds. Rhinoceroses? That’d be a crash.
