List Of 11 Herd Animals (With Pictures)

Herd animals are those animals that live in a group. Survival is the main basis of any living being, and this living way helps these animals to achieve it. Further, living in groups also greatly helps these creatures in many ways.

They make communications with one another and share informative knowledge. For example, if one knows about any water resource, they will share it with others, which greatly helps them.

During migration, they migrate in groups, decreasing the chances of a predator attack.

It also increases the dilution effect for these animals. It means that moving in groups decreases the chance of getting caught by any predator for every individual member of the herd.

Some famous herds of animals are goats, sheep, cows, buffalos, wildebeest, horses, and deer. Below, we will talk about them and some attractive herd animals that live under the water and in the air.

So, let’s go to the list.

List Of 11 Herd Animals

Horses

Antelopes

Elephants

Zebras

Dolphins

Wildebeest

Goats

Giraffes

American Bison

Flamingos

Camels

1.  Horses

Horses are famous as faithful animals after dogs. So, their behavior is well-known by the majority.

They like to live in groups ranging from 10 to 25 individuals. The majority of the group consists of adult females. One male and their offsprings are also part of every herd.

Dominant males maintain security matters and do not allow anyone to harm their families. Older female horses always maintain internal management of the group.

Male horses, which protect their herd from predators, attack and make it possible for no other male horse to mate with his female. It keeps an eye on every in and out of the group.

Sometimes a horse’s herd contains more than one male, but the Alpha male remains one, also known as a stallion. 

In the early stage of their life, stallion kicked out their family and meet with other males like him. They make a group, also known as the “bachelor herd.”

Living without families makes them strong because they face troubles on their own. Males are stronger than females, but still, females rule the herd and manage internal matters.

2.  Antelopes

Antelopes are fascinating creatures famous due to their stylish horns and adaptive behavior. They live in different regions of Africa and are also found in Asia.

As adaptive animals, they also adopt many techniques to ensure their survival. They live in groups whose members can vary from 0 to 50. This number is for normal herds, but some herd’s range can increase by more than 500 individuals.

Normal herds are just like families. One dominant male, multiple females, and their offspring are part of every herd. Ya, you listen, right?

Antelope herds contain multiple females, and the dominant male is the only male who mates with all these females. 

Massive herds contain more than one male. These numbers vary according to number of females.

Further, living in herds also helps them during migration time. They also communicate with vocalizations (snorts, grunts) and body signs (head movements, tail signals).

As their defensive behavior, they also do a unique behavior known as the circling of antelopes. They make a circle where adult and strong antelopes stand in our row while fragile and small antelopes remain on the inner side. They do that when any predator attacks them, which minimizes the threat of getting hunted for all members of their herd.

3.  Elephants

Elephants are gentle giants, which are the next animals on our list. The group of elephants is also known as a herd. From birthdays, they all live with love and affection.

Usually, the number of members in an elephant’s herd stays between 0 to 15, but this may vary.

An adult male known as “Bull,” an old female elephant, “Matriarch,” and some other young female elephants and calves are part of every elephant’s herd. 

Usually, male elephants stay alone. They just spend some early years of their life with family. Then, they go out and keep living with other males or alone.

In mating season, they go near the herds where female elephants present to accept them. There they compete with other males to impress females.

Indeed, they never live with herds for a long time, but their presence in the herd makes the herd feel safe. Further, they also tell the herd about feeding and water points they find during their wandering experience.

The matriarch is the leading individual of every elephant’s herd. It maintains the group problems and decides what, when, and where to do. It also leads them while going to find water resources.

Young females are born calves which makes their family more strong.

This giant creature is very social and has very strong bonds with one another. They live with one another and also solve their issue.

4.  Zebras

Zebras are also popular creatures due to their unique look. They are social creatures and live like family units. Usually, their group contains a male, female, and childrens, and their number varies between 20 to 25 members.

Sometimes, different small herds of zebras merge into one herd called the “Super herd.” This may cross the member range of more than a thousand and happens mostly at migration time.

Important Note: The herd of zebras is known as “dazzle.”

The group problems are mainly maintained by male zebra but mostly issues of herd regulated by an old female. Mean both play their leading role.

When they merge themselves in super herds, they communicate with one another. Here, they share their experiences and survival techniques.

Further, their strip’s bodies make an illusion of vision when they are in herds. This disables predators from identifying an individual zebra to attack. 

During migration, zebras allow other creatures like antelopes to merge into super herds.

5.  Dolphins

Dolphins are marine mammals famous among people for their kind-hearted behavior towards other creatures, even humans. Rather than their kindness, their cute look also amuses people.

Even it has become a billion’s industry to use dolphins to amuse people. It is due to the playing nature of dolphins who like to play.

Important Note: The group of dolphins is called a “pod,” not a herd.

They are not herd animals, but still, we add them to the list of herd animals. It is because their behaviors are amazingly familiar to those animals.

The dolphin’s pod also contains a male, a female, and their calves. These calves are also famous as “cuties.” Dominant males manage the group, and no proof found proves that females are also dominant. 

Living in groups benefits them in many ways. They use their unique techniques to grab small fish. They do not do that individually. Further, they also help small and injured members of the group.

6.  Wildebeest

Wildebeest are famous animals due to their large accumulation and distinct look. They are mainly found in Africa.

Important Note: Confusion is the name of the wildebeest group.

These animals gathered in a very high number of individuals. Their range may vary between one to two million. In their herds, zebras and other grazer animals also get accumulate. This happens when they are going to make a great migration.

Every year they did it due to a lack of food and water. They make a circular journey between the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya and the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. It is also famous as “The Great Migration” due to the many migrator individuals.

Such a huge herd which may contain nearly 2 million wildebeest, 7 lac zebras, and some other grazers, confuse the mind of predators, minimizing the chances of bringing attack for every individual. 

Moreover, managing such a herd is not a piece of cake. So, dominant males and older females manage the herd together.

7.  Goats

Goats are famous as social animals from ancient times. In the list of herd animals, they must be in.

A usual herd of these animals can vary in numbers between 15 to 130. An older female maintains the management of the herd. They respect the female queen goats and present the best comfortable place for sleeping.  

The dominant male also has a unique place in the herd, but the female queen makes most decisions. These herds walk and always remain eager to find new water and food resources.

8.  Giraffes

The giraffe’s herd is the less structured type of herd. They are not well structured, meaning no dominant female or male. Getting in or going out from the herd is always the choice of every individual.

As males are not social and love to live alone, females take charge of taking care of their offspring. It might be due to their motherly nature.

Important Note: The group of giraffes is called the “tower.”

The tower is a suitable name for the giraffe’s herd due to its tall height. The number of their herd members may vary from 10 to 30, but it is also essential to say that their family units are not so good.

9. American Bison

Residential of North America’s wide grasslands and an endangered specie, American bison are also herd animals. They live in herds and play an important role in the ecosystem. After grazing grass, their new nutrient-rich grass occurs, which works as a habitat for many animal species.

As herd animals, they live socially with one another. They’re not dominant in their herd, and everyone lives independently. Even their groups are of two types. One group contains all females with calves, and the other contains just males.

Males live a bachelor life and join the herd during mating season. Further, they excrete a hormone, “pheromone,” which works to attract mates to one another.

10. Flamingos

 

Flamingos are not animals that are famous due to their herds. They are well known due to their flamboyant color.

These birds also live in groups known as colonies and sometimes as flocks. Living combined helps them a lot.

Combined, they make so much movement in the water, which makes food emerge. This way, they help each other to reach their food.

During mating season, they collectively find a point and make their nests. The number of group members may vary depending on the area’s food availability. Normally, normal flocks may contain 70 members, while colonies may contain more than 3000 members.

11. Camels

Camels also show herd behavior and live in groups. Their group size may vary which depend on their surroundings.

Every camel’s herd contains a dominant male, females, their calves, and also some other males and females. Dominant males make decisions to manage the group. For this supremacy, other males show aggression time by time. They want the leadership of the herd.

Other than herd behavior, these animals are famous for many other reasons. They can live without eating and drinking for a long time.

Final Thoughts

Like me, you also know well that the list of herd animals will not vanish. Many other animals, such as cows, sheep, whales, lions, kangaroos, gorillas, and seals, are also from these animals.

They adopt this behavior to ensure their survival.

In the wild, every act’s basic purpose is to ensure survival. So, they adopt such behavior for this. Despite this, they also help each other in many ways, strengthening their bond.