7 Animals That Were Deemed ‘The Ugliest’ In The World. Do You Agree? (We Think They’re Cute)
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If that's the case, then the people who called these animals "the ugliest in the world" might have some pretty bad taste. Sure, not all of these creatures are exactly beautiful. But if you're a real animal lover you might be able to find something cute, or at least interesting, about just about every one of them. Read on to see if you agree with the judges about these "ugly" animals!
This Is What A Diet Of Slim Jims Does To You
Meet Zsa Zsa. She’s an English Bulldog with a huge tongue and a drooling problem. These credentials helped her win the title at the 2018 World's Ugliest Dog Contest. Once she was up on the judging stage, Zsa Zsa’s owner had to carry her past the judges. As reported to The New York Times, “[Zsa Zsa] was eating part of a Slim Jim on the table and just sneezed all over them and was drooling on them.” That must have been the talent portion of the contest!
Admittedly, the dog’s tongue is pretty large but she certainly can’t help that. And no one looks great with a large ropy string of drool dangling from their lips. Sadly, Zsa Zsa died in July of 2018. At least this “ugly” dog got to experience fame for a while.
Little Peanut Won The Ugly Pageant
Peanut here was the 2014 winner of the World’s Ugliest Dog Contest. Peanut had a rough life before he became a pageant winner. He lived in an abusive home and was burned in a fire. His strange appearance doesn’t mean that he’s not a sweet little guy, though!
Owner Holly Chandler told Time: “[Peanut] doesn't have lips anymore. His eyelids are also gone, and so he can't close his eyes, so therefore his eyes water. The tears drain into his nose and so he has nice little snot bubbles because of it... that adds to his character." Here’s a special bonus: Peanut’s $1,500 winnings went to helping other dogs in unfortunate situations. Good boy, Peanut.
‘Big, Ugly, Lazy And Gassy’
Those are some choice words used to describe this pooch named Martha. The Neapolitan Mastiff was crowned in the 2017 World's Ugliest Dog Contest. Martha is enormous, weighing in at 125 pounds, and she appears to be all jowls. During judging she repeatedly laid her head down and let her wrinkly face spread out over the stage.
This is another happy comeback story. You see, Martha was in bad shape when she was rescued a few years ago. Her owner nursed her back to health after several surgeries. Although Martha probably doesn’t care much about her new status as “world’s ugliest dog,” she’s helping spread awareness about the wonderful love that comes along with rescuing animals!
Who ‘Nose’ Why This Monkey Was Called Ugly
This creature is a proboscis monkey, and the public voted it one of the top five ugliest animals in the world in 2013. You can probably take a guess why. These monkeys have very distinctive noses, and some people refer to them as “long-nosed monkeys.”
Here’s the thing. These monkeys aren’t ugly to each other. In fact, the males use their large noses to attract mates! The specialized organs create a kind of echo chamber that amplifies a male’s calls, which increases the number of potential mates that will hear them. Maybe these guys need to grow some noses that are even louder, though. Sadly, proboscis monkeys are on the endangered list.
A Turkey Vulture Is Always Ready For Halloween. That's Not A Bad Thing, Is It?
Here’s another animal that falls into the category of “ugly” but helpful. Turkey vultures might be one of the scariest-looking birds out there! Lots of people think so. Animal Planet even ranked the turkey vulture in their top-ten list of ugly creatures. They look like red skeletons in big feather coats.
But nature usually knows what it’s doing. The turkey vulture’s most menacing features are designed to help it survive. The birds can eat better with bald heads and necks… no feathers to clean up after a messy meal of carrion. And vultures are an important part of our ecosystem. By eating dead animals, they keep things clean and free of contagious diseases. Here's another win for the ugliest among us!
Voted Into The Ugly Club For All The Wrong Reasons
Every year the Ugly Animal Preservation Society invites members of the public to vote for the ugliest animal in the world. They get tons of submissions, and bats are a frequent nominee. This one is a vampire bat. With his squashed nose and oversized ears we think he looks kind of like a funny, fuzzy pixie.
Many people are scared of bats though, which might be why they find the little critters so repulsive. The truth is that bats are beneficial to have around. They eat a ton of bugs and mosquitos and help pollinate plants! Even their droppings are useful as a fertilizer. How ugly do you think this guy is now?
How Did Walle End Up Winning This Title?
We just don’t understand this one, but guess you can’t argue with the judges. Walle here is a beagle/basset/boxer mix, and believe it or not he won the top prize at the World’s Ugliest Dog Contest in 2013. We think he’s totally cute!
But even Walle’s owner Tammie Barbee admits he’s a little bit funny looking. She told People, “His head has always been bigger than his body. Whenever people walk up to him they’re always like, ‘That dog is not right.’” But she loves him anyway. “He’s an amazing dog… I don’t feel like he’s any different.”
