Listening Post: All eat up with the ugly

The blobfish: world’s ugliest animal? Photo: NOAA

Mother Nature has clearly whacked some of her unfortunate children with “the ugly stick.” My morning browse of NPR brought this item to light: Blobfish Named ‘Ugliest Animal’, which I thought was kind of cruel, right up until I saw the photo. Yup, that sucker is uhhgleee. The loathsome nomination was made by an online vote to choose the mascot for the Ugly Animal Preservation Society. Here’s how the BBC describes the group:

The society is a whimsical British organization that mixes comedy with science to raise awareness about “the threats facing … weird and wonderful creatures.”

So they’re not just a bunch of meanies. Also in the running for the dubious distinction: the proboscis monkey, British bats, and the flightless dung beetle. Look them up, but not on a full stomach.

I have my own candidates, including the lamentable featherless chicken (deliberately bred for crowded conditions in hot climates), the pathetic hairless Sphynx cat (now that must have just been mean), and the shovel-handed, worm-snouted star-nosed mole.

None of these creatures are common sights in the North Country (thank God), but even these green and pleasant lands have their share of ugly. NCPR’s Photo of the Day feature has been a great showcase for nature’s beauties–blue heron in flight, graceful whitetails, gem-like butterflies–but what about the homely, the lop-sided and the freakish? Submit your best worst shots on the Photo of the Day submission page or submit via email to [email protected]

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