I know this is an emotive topic but I also feel it has another side.....

I suppose some idiot was always going to do it, but I was most surprised to find a competition for the "ugliest" animal on the website LiveScience.com (associated with Space.com). Not only that but Australian animals such as the Tas Devil and a beautiful picture of the Opossum, Didelphus marsupialis, were featured prominently in the list. I emailed them and told them how irresponsible I thought they were, at least it could have been "unusual" creatures. Instead there is a gallery of photos, each of which you are supposed to rate for ugliest. They have spiders, weevils, fish, birds, Rhino etc. as well as some newly discovered mammals, and some endangered ones, even the Manatee gets a guernsey. Totally irresponsible, also a typically American attitude to animals, but also very unscientific.

Here is the blurb under the Brushy photo (at http://www.livescience.com/bestimg/index.php?url=ls_ugliest_possum2_03.jpg&cat=uglyanimal):

"Ugly as Sin

The Brushtail Possum is a cat-sized creature weighing between 4-9 pounds, with distinctive features, including a bushy, prehensile tail, strong claws, a pointed snout, brown eyes, and prominent ears, which are naked on the inside.

Credit: Rex Williams, Chatham Island Taiko Trust"

 

And the Tassie Devil reads (at http://www.livescience.com/bestimg/index.php?url=ls_ugliest_tasmanian_03.jpg&cat=uglyanimals) as follows:

"You Dirty Devil!

The Tasmanian devil is frightening, creepy, and dreadful to look at. It's the size of a small dog, and its body resembles that of a small bear. The animal is black or brownish and has a white throat patch and white spots on the sides. The skull is flat and all the teeth are crowded together to give the mouth a powerful look. The upper incisors are rather long, sharp and, well, devilish.

Credit: www.trowunna.com.au/ "

If you feel as I do, that this is a totally non-educational approach, look at the site, and then go to the contact us section at the bottom of their page which takes you to another page with this link: http://www.space.com/php/contactus/thoughts.php