Reptile & Amphibian Forums

what's the proper name of a "group" of turtles? I've seen herd, flock, group, part, mob ect.

Weren't the Ninja Turtles a gang?
Ed

Have you ever see a gang of males ganging up on a female or another male - definately gang like.

Bill G.

I was glad that you asked the question because I'd been meaning to look it up, and this is what I found:

Groups of turtles can be referred to as a BALE, DOLE, NEST or TURN of turtles.

I'll probably still refer to mine as a herd, however.

Where did you find this information?

It's interesting, because other than the Aldabra tortoise definately grouping, and possibly Galapagos (though it might just be space constraints, I'm not sure), no other turtle species purposefully groups. Aquatics might end up basking together, but if enough basking space is given, they will spread out and no recognizable grouping occurs.

It makes you wonder why a word for a group of turtles would be needed. For sheep, they herd, dogs form packs, etc. etc. Just seems odd that an animal not known for grouping on purpose would have a word for it's groups.

Not very good names, though!
Bale? Sounds like hay bale, like they are farmed for food.
Dole? Like the fruit? More food! Or maybe the impotent politician.
Nest? Well... that's just confusing, since they do nest
Turn? Hrmm... I guess the least bad. Still kind of odd. Oh well, aren't crows the ones who have "murders". That would seem worse I guess.

.

I hadn't read an article on that yet, but I had heard from keepers with huge outdoor pens that they stayed grouped primarily, and other suggestions of a herding mentality. Seen any good studies of their group behavior? I love reading the tests they use to determine behaviors, usually very tricky and ingenious. All of my turtles have only one reason to seek each other out, but mine are all north american species.

The Behavior and Ecology of Two Amazonian Tortoises...
This is a thesis presented by a Debra Moskovits in 1985.
another good reference is the Turtles of Venezuela by P.Pritchard and P.Trebbau.
From these you can find tons of references.
Ed

I use herd, because like sheep, cows, etc. that is the way you keep them, fenced up and in a herd.

Bill G.

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Weird. Have never heard anyone use those terms. I'll go with Herd since my grandfather was often overheard saying "Your grandmother is about as fast as a herd of turtles" (out of earshot of course). So in his memory, mine are a herd.

P

It seems to me that at a certain point, naming groups of animals becomes an exercise in wordplay.
Here are some more fun/interesting/oldfashioned terms:

Gaggle of geese
Murder of crows
Chowder, or clutter of cats
Ostentation of peacocks
Shrewdness of apes
Sloth, or sleuth of bears
Lamentation of swans

The list goes on.I remember stumbling across this type of list/word game about 30 years ago (ouch! dating myself!).
I had heard the expression 'herd of turtles' before too, and tend to use it most.

But think about it, folks. Pod of whales, or string of ponies, or clutch of eggs, make little sense but are widely accepted...

Aren't you all just soooo glad I got my power back after the hurricane?

Stephanie

I refer to mine as a herd too.

i always say "bale" even though i imagine its origins to involve the harvest of turtles for food.

It was a word i was told (at a young and impressionable age) to be THE "proper" word to describe a group of turtles and so despite all rebeliious attempts to the contrary , it sticks.
But its okay for me since i rarely ever have reason to use "bale" in any other context and i like my words specific and unique. (which i why, in general, i don't like the use of words with an already assigned meaning being used to describe a group of animals, among other things.)

-rob