5 Ugly Endangered Animals That Need Love Too | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Lifestyle

5 Ugly Endangered Animals That Need Love Too

No pandas or white tigers here!

597
5 Ugly Endangered Animals That Need Love Too
Pixabay

When you think of endangered animals what do you think? Probably something along the lines of a great panda, all fluffy and cute, just lounging around and harmlessly eating bamboo. No predation here! Or perhaps the bald eagle, a symbol of our country soaring through the air, landing by its nest in a tall pine tree carefully caring for its eggs so that the species may live on.

But what if I told you not all endangered animals are as cute as a panda or as regal as a bald eagle? In fact, quite a few of them are ugly as hell. Just awful. Absolutely hideous. And they need love too. Since "pretty" and "cute" endangered animals usually get the most attention and funding.

These animals weren't designed by God to be pleasant for humans to look at, their hideous features are the product of years and years of evolution and serve very specific purposes. Hopefully, by the end of this article, you'll gain a new appreciation for these animals. I also will be roasting them a little in the process.

1. California Condor

If you live in the United States and have ever seen a vulture (either at the side of the road picking at road kill or maybe even flying overhead) it was probably a turkey vulture. For some perspective, the turkey vulture can have a wingspan of up to six feet. The Condor? Ten feet.

Besides that, the condor can be distinguished by the fancy Disney villain-esque feather boa looking ring around its neck and a head that's more fleshy/peach colored than the head of the turkey vulture.

The saddest thing of all is that condors aren't dying out because of drought or habitat destruction or anything like that, they're getting poisoned by lead bullets. Not shot, but they eat the bullets left by hunters and die.

Vultures are actually really important. They're like the garbage men of nature. By consuming decaying meat, they get rid of the bacteria and germs those carcasses would otherwise spread to other animals or the nearby environment.

[Source]

2. Amazon River Dolphin


Give a four-year-old a couple pieces of strawberry Laffy Taffy. The four-year-old drops them on the dusty floor and picks them back up again. Now ask that four-year-old to try and sculpt a dolphin. That is what the Amazon river dolphin looks like.

One of the main threats to the Amazon river dolphin is the installation of hydroelectric dams. It's really unfortunate because the use of hydroelectric dams cuts down on a number of fossil fuels used for power. These fossil fuels emit carbon dioxide into the air which leads to ocean acidification, a process that greatly contributes to the massive death of coral reefs around the ocean which can also harm other species. You're damned if you do, and you're damned if you don't.

[Source]

3. Humphead Wrasse


This reef fish looks like it got hit with an ACME anvil in a roadrunner episode. Humphead wrasses can grow up to six feet in length, and their main downfall is poaching.

Similar to shark finning, its endangerment is due to its culinary appeal.

Sources [1] [2]

4. Maclaud's Horseshoe Bat

There are actually quite a few species of bat that are endangered, but for people who don't like bats, they're gonna think all of them are ugly (like the flying fox bat, who I personally think is adorable, it has a puppy dog face, but the size sketches people out.) But I decided to pick the ugliest, one that even I, someone who appreciates bats, will find ugly.

And WOW this guy looks like he came straight out of your nightmares.

These dudes are from Guinea. Their main threat is habitat loss, as well as bushmeat hunting. So imagine someone breaking into your house, burning it down, and then running after you trying to eat you. That's what the Maclauds horseshoe bat has to deal with.

[Source]

5. Proboscis Monkey

Hey, its Gonzo from the muppets!

The proboscis monkey is only found in Borneo, a large island that's part of Indonesia. Only the males have the shockingly enormous noses. The noses serve no purpose other than to help find mates, its a form of sexual selection. Their main threat is habitat destruction.

[Source]


Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
student sleep
Huffington Post

I think the hardest thing about going away to college is figuring out how to become an adult. Leaving a household where your parents took care of literally everything (thanks, Mom!) and suddenly becoming your own boss is overwhelming. I feel like I'm doing a pretty good job of being a grown-up, but once in awhile I do something that really makes me feel like I'm #adulting. Twenty-somethings know what I'm talking about.

Keep Reading...Show less
school
blogspot

I went to a small high school, like 120-people-in-my-graduating-class small. It definitely had some good and some bad, and if you also went to a small high school, I’m sure you’ll relate to the things that I went through.

1. If something happens, everyone knows about it

Who hooked up with whom at the party? Yeah, heard about that an hour after it happened. You failed a test? Sorry, saw on Twitter last period. Facebook fight or, God forbid, real fight? It was on half the class’ Snapchat story half an hour ago. No matter what you do, someone will know about it.

Keep Reading...Show less
Chandler Bing

I'm assuming that we've all heard of the hit 90's TV series, Friends, right? Who hasn't? Admittedly, I had pretty low expectations when I first started binge watching the show on Netflix, but I quickly became addicted.

Without a doubt, Chandler Bing is the most relatable character, and there isn't an episode where I don't find myself thinking, Yup, Iam definitely the Chandler of my friend group.

Keep Reading...Show less
eye roll

Working with the public can be a job, in and of itself. Some people are just plain rude for no reason. But regardless of how your day is going, always having to be in the best of moods, or at least act like it... right?

1. When a customer wants to return a product, hands you the receipt, where is printed "ALL SALES ARE FINAL" in all caps.

2. Just because you might be having a bad day, and you're in a crappy mood, doesn't make it okay for you to yell at me or be rude to me. I'm a person with feelings, just like you.

3. People refusing to be put on hold when a customer is standing right in front of you. Oh, how I wish I could just hang up on you!

Keep Reading...Show less
blair waldorf
Hercampus.com

RBF, or resting b*tch face, is a serious condition that many people suffer from worldwide. Suffers are often bombarded with daily questions such as "Are you OK?" and "Why are you so mad?" If you have RBF, you've probably had numerous people tell you to "just smile!"

While this question trend can get annoying, there are a couple of pros to having RBF.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments