Animals that were once called with other names

Today we have easily understandable names for nearly any animal on the planet. However in the past even the most common named animals today were called with bizarre names. Today we have gathered a list of animals that were once called with other names.

Turkey (Guinea Fowl):-

Nowadays the bird which we called turkey was known as Guinea Fowl in the past. This bird was a native of Africa and as introduced in Europe back in Ottoman Empire era which is today called Turkey. Europeans also originally called Guinea Fowls as Turkey Cock or Turkey Hens believing them to be originally from Turkey. Strangely enough even today it has many different names in different countries. Common examples are it is called Peru Bird in Malaysia, in Turkey it is called ‘Hindi’, and in France it is called ‘Dinde’.

Sea Turtle (Marine Tortoise):-

Tortoises have shells that look like big domes and short feet and legs whereas turtles have streamlined shells and bodies with webbed feet and flippers. Tortoises are terrestrial while turtles are aquatic animals.

Some turtles also live on land and are called tortoises as well making it confusing to understand the difference. This problem simply gets out of hand if you get to know that all Tortoises are turtles. Due to these centuries of confusion in describing them, sea turtles were once called “marine tortoises’.

Cheetah (Leopards) and Leopards (Pards):-

Cheetahs were called Leopards in the past as researchers though that they were a hybrid child of cross between lion and a leopard. Cheetah got its name from Hindi word originally pronounced as Chitraka which meant “Hunting Leopard” or a “tiger”.

Leopards in the past were simply called Pards which is derived from a Latin word meaning “male Panther”.

Killer Whale (Whale Killers):-

Killer Whale which is also nowadays called Orca is actually not whale instead it is a Dolphin. The bizarre thing is that they were formerly called “Whale Killers” by sailors in past who watched these huge aquatic animals hunting prey larger than their own size. In Spain they were once called “Ballena Asesina” meaning Assassin Whale.

Panda (Parti-Colored Bear):-

Pandas were once called Parti Colored Bears and the name was originally given to it in Nepal. The name Giant Panda was given to it in 1901. It has not been seen since September of 1920 and at that time the popular science magazine that published the picture named it “raccoon Bear”.

Giraffe (Camel leopard):-

Giraffes were formerly called Camel Leopard until the late 19th century. The name Camel Leopard was derived from Greek word “Kamelos Pardalis” meaning Camel Leopard. Greek named it so because of its resemblance to both camels and leopards. Some even thought it to be a hybrid offspring of Camel and Leopard. In 16th century it was also called “Arabic Zarafa”.

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