African folklore is filled with many wonderful tales about how the elephant got his trunk and why bats fly at night, but equal delight can be found in the collective nouns of the African bush.

If you’re a lover of African sayings or African proverbs, try these expressions out for size on your next safari.

We’ve put together a list of some of the mammals on Melozhori and found their corresponding collective nouns, but the truth is, anyone can have a go at putting collective nouns together – it’s all part of the fun!

An armoury of aardvark
Although not as scaly as the armadillo, this shy creature of the veld certainly needs thick skin to content with the termites it feeds on. Thus, armoury works well!

A tower of giraffes
Self-explanatory. These skyscrapers of the animal kingdom look down on us all from their lofty height. An adult male giraffe can grow up to 6m tall.

A sounder of warthog
Warthogs are vocal animals, grunting to keep in contact with one another, gnashing their tusks against each other when they eat and squealing when they feel threatened.

A dazzle of zebras
“Dazzling” evokes thoughts of a disco of some kind and judging by the number of groovy dancers donning zebra print, we’d say they’re pretty dazzling.

A leap of leopards
Leopards can bound up to 6m at a stretch, masters of the leap, indeed.

A delegation of mongooses
When mongooses get together you can imagine it would make for a rowdy delegation.

A skulk of bat-eared foxes
These notorious tricksters of the bush have long-since held a reputation for being cunning.

A pounce of caracals
These long-legged wild cats rely on stealth to ambush their prey and pounce without warning.

A flick of hares
With their twitchy noses and nimble limbs, a flick of hares certainly evokes thoughts of an animal who, with the flick of its tail, quickly disappears into the brush.

A prickle of porcupines
Nobody wants to get on the wrong end of a porcupine, but these large rodents are pretty cute, all things considered.

A colony of badgers
Never corner a honey badger! These guys are scrappy, but famous for their tenacity.

There you have it! Do you think these collective nouns do the animals justice? Or perhaps you could come up with even better ones of your own. This game is particularly fun to play on safari.

Melozhori’s story is as old as the ancient landscape of the Overberg, which borders on the Cape Fold Mountains. In 1740, Governor Simon van der Stel instructed settlers to move towards the interior and establish trade with the indigenous Khoi, who inhabited the region. Stormsvlei became a popular outspanning destination for the settlers’ oxen and gradually, a town took shape around the need for wagon repairs and other travelling amenities.

The land on which Melozhori is built was turned into a farm and the wildlife that once roamed here freely started to fade from the land and from memory.

That is, we’re happy to say, until the Bhorat family purchased the farm in 2008, by then given over to dilapidation and ruin. They removed livestock (sheep and cattle) from the land and slowly started introducing the wild species of old while carefully rehabilitating the vegetation. Through their concerted efforts, Melozhori is now home to over 38 species of wildlife and 129 species of birds!

You can take a look at our full mammal list here.

If you’re interested in spending some time with us at Melozhori Private Game Reserve, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us directly at info@melozhori.co.za or use our online booking system.

Reservations are open from Monday to Friday 8am – 5pm.

We look forward to welcoming you to our slice of paradise!