Herd

As a flock is called in zoology mainly a collection of large mammals, but also groups of flightless birds are so called. Similarly, herds are mixed, composite, for example, zebra, wildebeest and ostrich agglomerations.

Structure

In a herd there is a more or less uniform coordinated Sozialverband less to several thousand individuals. For large herds mostly unite smaller, closer together remaining groups, such as many cloven-hoofed animals ( Artiodactyla ).

A herd may both consist of an anonymous social organization in which individuals do not know each other, as from an individualized, in which the animals are familiar with each other.

Smaller herds may either loose, without a (permanent) leading animal be organized, as in male deer outside the mating season, or, as in horses, hierarchically using alpha animal.

The herd behavior depends on many factors, whether the availability of food, it is species-specific reproductive behavior.

Comparable terms

In the hunter language herds are often occupied by species-specific names, so jump in roe deer, rotting in wild boar in deer herd.

Comparable is the flock with the swarm of insects, fish and birds, the pack in land predators such as the wolf, and the school in marine mammals such as dolphins and other cetaceans. The younger zoological and behavioral literature used anglicisms, such as communities for family group or pack for pack.

Linguistic history

The German word herd can be hert on the Middle High German word, return the Old High German herta as well as on academic reconstruction, herdō on the Germanic *. Correspondences are found ' to be returned to West and North Germanic languages ​​as well as in Old Church Slavonic, which * kerdhā on the voreinzelsprachliche reconstruction with the meaning " series, herd, group of animals ." The d in NHG has probably developed under the influence of Low German.

Similar due to the common Indo-European origin which both the words cordd for " tribe, group, crowd " in Cymric or kórthys for " heap of grain, sheaf " in Greek as well as their equivalents. Reference is made to the related action, but probably etymologically related to no relation word horde.