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Sunday, January 4, 2015

DEFENDING UGLY ANIMALS FROM EXTINCTON - Not as cute as pandas but they have every right to life as any other animal.

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These creatures have become the surprise stars of a glossy new book - The Ugly Animals: We Can't All be Pandas by Simon Watt - destined for coffee tables in a bid to save them from extinction. Unlike their cute and fluffy cousins in the animal kingdom, the plight of these animals is relatively unknown.  
The Ugly Animal Preservation Society was set up to champion the cause of endangered creatures with no friends, including (clockwise from top left) the Proboscis monkey, the blobfish, the shoebill, the purple pig nosed frog, the big-headed turtle, and the Pacific lamprey.
 
 The common name of the Titicaca water frog is the scrotum frog, thanks to its extremely saggy skin.  But the folds of extra skin are what allows the water frog to survive high up in the Andes in Lake Titicaca. Unfortunatley, there is a belief that eating the aquatic scrotum frog can improve a man’s masculinity and so many are stolen from the lake to be made into frog 'frappés'. Various zoos around the world are trying to breed them in captivity but have so far had only limited success
The common name of the Titicaca water frog is the scrotum frog, thanks to its extremely saggy skin.  But the folds of extra skin are what allows the water frog to survive high up in the Andes in Lake Titicaca. Unfortunatley, there is a belief that eating the aquatic scrotum frog can improve a man’s masculinity and so many are stolen from the lake to be made into frog 'frappés'. Various zoos around the world are trying to breed them in captivity but have so far had only limited success.
 
See more images of endangered homely creatures

  • With their flabby frowns, gurning grins and bloated, gassy stomachs, they're hardly going to win a pin-up competition. 
  • But these disgusting creatures have become the surprise stars of a glossy new book in a bid to save them from extinction.
  • Unlike their cute and fluffy cousins in the animal kingdom, the plight of these rancid animals is relatively unknown. The Ugly Animal Preservation Society was set up to champion the cause of endangered creatures with no friends.
  • It is backed by a number of celebrity scientists, presenters and comedians, and organises road shows and school visits. 
  • Particle physicist and broadcaster Professor Brian Cox said: 'I support the ugly animal campaign. There are too many people trying to save cute animals. They get all the press, and all the attention. Ugly animals are more deserving than cute animals.'
  • Simon Watt, the society's president, said: 'We've needed an ugly face for endangered animals for a long time and I've been amazed by the public's reaction. For too long the cute and fluffy animals have taken the limelight, but now the blobfish will be a voice for the mingers who always get forgotten.' 
  • The Ugly Animals: We Can't All be Pandas by Simon Watt £9.99, published by The History Press.
The aptly named hagfish have teeth that lie in two vicious rows, and no jaws. To escape predators, hagfish secrete a sticky goo that will allow them a slippery exit.  They have even evolved the ability to sneeze to free their own gills from the gloop 
The aptly named hagfish have teeth that lie in two vicious rows, and no jaws. To escape predators, hagfish secrete a sticky goo that will allow them a slippery exit.  They have even evolved the ability to sneeze to free their own gills from the gloop 
 
 He may be as ugly as sin, but the Axolotl  (Ambystoma mexicanum) doesn't seem too bothered by it. Roughly translating to 'water monster' the aquatic creature walks on legs and while it does develop lungs, it doesn’t really use them, preferring instead to draw oxygen from its ruff of gills or even from its skin. If its habitat dries up, it can metamorphose into a form that will wander off in search of a new home. Creepy
 The Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) - roughly translating to 'water monster' - has been included on the ugly animal list, although he's rather cute.  This aquatic creature walks on legs and while it does develop lungs, it doesn’t really use them, preferring instead to draw oxygen from its ruff of gills or even from its skin. If its habitat dries up, it can metamorphose into a form that will wander off in search of a new home.
 
The Sulawesi Babirusa is so ugly that the people of the island of Silawesi, Indonesia, who call it the 'pig deer' make demonic masks thatmimic its face. It has curious upper canines that curve round and grow into the back of its skull
 

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