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You’re probably familiar with common collective nouns like “herd” or “pack,” but the most hilarious animal group name must belong to pandas.
With their chubby bodies, snub noses, clumsy antics, and enviable eating routine of 12 hours a day, pandas have long been top-tier meme material, and the collective noun for these bamboo-munchers is just as absurdly fitting.
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Why a Group of Pandas Is Called an “Embarrassment”
Image credits: Ramaz Bluashvili/Pexels
As meme-ready as it sounds, the collective noun for a group of pandas really is “embarrassment.” These fluffy giants have more than earned the title, thanks to their famously clumsy antics and leisurely pace (via IFAW).
No one’s quite sure where this hilariously fitting name came from, but the internet’s sarcasm-fueled communities likely helped popularize it.
Image credits: Mehmet Turgut Kirkgoz/Pexels
With behavior that’s more slapstick than survivalist, pandas often end up in the most ridiculous predicaments. It makes you wonder how these lovable oafs haven’t gone extinct.
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Maybe that’s why pandas are considered China’s most treasured national icon.
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Interestingly, in the 19th century, a group of pandas was also called a “cupboard,” though the origin of that term remains a mystery. Another playful label is “a bamboo of pandas,” inspired by their nonstop snacking habits (per The Sun).
“They eat mostly bamboo. Wild pandas spend up to 16 hours each day eating up to 40 pounds (18 kilograms) of bamboo,” reveals Encyclopedia Britannica.
Despite consuming massive quantities of bamboo stalks, shoots, and leaves, pandas can’t properly digest cellulose, one of the plant’s main components.
As a result, these hefty creatures need as many as 50 bathroom trips a day to flush out what their bodies can’t process.
Image credits: qgadrian/Pixabay
When it comes to naming animal groups, humans often favor creativity over science. Take giraffes, for example: a group is known as a “tower,” a perfect match to their height and solitary tendencies in the wild (per BBC).
Meanwhile, a “skulk of foxes” reflects their sneaky nature and the Old Norse roots of the word, which means to lurk or prowl.
Is the Term Official or Just a Floating Meme?
Image credits: youtube.com
Still skeptical about calling a bunch of pandas an “embarrassment”? You’re not alone.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare has confirmed using the hilariously offbeat term to describe a group of pandas.
While “embarrassment of pandas” straddles the line between meme and fact, it’s widely cited in trivia circles and pop culture for its sheer absurdity.
Image credits: fei wang/Pexels
“How the hell is that an actual thing,” one Reddit user exclaimed. Another confessed, “Honestly I didn’t believe it. So I checked and you’re right.”
Now that this too-silly-to-be-fake label is out there, people are itching to use it.
A viral meme joked that maybe the OP is a “group of pandas,” it got a surprising amount of support.
Image credits: unknown“The worst part is that it’s real,” one user wrote. Another chimed, “I don’t even need to be part of a group of pandas to be called an embarrassment.”
Now, it seems like half the internet identifies as a group of pandas.
Image credits: 20Akif
Image credits: NamexP
Image credits: unknownOne commenter made the connection: “So the whole time it was Kung Fu Embarrass?”
Another showed affection for these goofy giants: “It’s hard to be scared of bears when they got pandas in their ranks — clumsiest bunch of potatoes that ever existed.”
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Unless zoologists decide to put an end to this “embarrassment,” the term will likely remain official.
Other Bizarre Animal Group Names
Image credits: ArtTower/Pixabay
English collective nouns have always had a flair for the dramatic and the ridiculous. Some names reflect animal behavior or characteristics, like a “murder of crows” (per PBS), which stems from the eerie old folktale that crows gather to decide the fate of one of their own.
Others describe an animal’s looks in hilariously direct ways. Take “a prickle of porcupines,” for instance, nods at their intimidating yet comical spines (per Grammarly).
Image credits: Yiğit KARAALİOĞLU/Pexels
Then there are names based on long-standing symbolism. For example, a group of owls is known as a “parliament,” playing off their association with wisdom and thoughtful presence (per The Marginalian).
Some get even more whimsical. A “flamboyance of flamingos” captures the rhyme and the dazzling, synchronized displays these birds are known for (per WWF).
Image credits: Pixabay/Pexels
You’ve probably heard of a “colony of ants” or a “tribe of goats.” But if you know your “memory of elephants,” “bloat of hippos,” or “unkindness of ravens” (via Euronews), you rightfully earn bragging rights.
FAQ
What is a pack of red pandas called?
Red pandas are typically solitary, but when grouped, zoologists sometimes use the term “pack,” though sightings of multiple red pandas together are rare (per Smithsonian’s National Zoo).
What group of animals is called a “blessing”?
A gathering of narwhals is called a “blessing,” fitting for these elusive marine mammals that rarely interact with humans. These so-called unicorns of the sea are native to Arctic regions including Norway, Canada, Russia, and Greenland.
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What do you think ?
Apatheist Account2 5 months ago
The trouble is that someone makes something up and posts it, then someone searches and picks it up, and it starts to become fact. Something similar happened back in the 80s - the show Not the Nine O'Clock news did a sketch about a talking gorilla called Gerald, which had the line "It's a whoop of gorillas, it's a f****e of baboons" and no-one queried it, so it started to become fact. It's actually a troop of gorillas and a congress of baboons.
Scott Rackley 5 months ago
I love when they get a bunch of cubs together and it's just complete chaos
Apatheist Account2 5 months ago
The trouble is that someone makes something up and posts it, then someone searches and picks it up, and it starts to become fact. Something similar happened back in the 80s - the show Not the Nine O'Clock news did a sketch about a talking gorilla called Gerald, which had the line "It's a whoop of gorillas, it's a f****e of baboons" and no-one queried it, so it started to become fact. It's actually a troop of gorillas and a congress of baboons.
Scott Rackley 5 months ago
I love when they get a bunch of cubs together and it's just complete chaos
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