Not-that-election-post...
Something else entirely...
I've avoided the bizarre world of five's 'Nature Shock' - the titles ('Half-Man, Half-Tree', anyone?) have been enough to put me off, along with the promo pics. It's all a bit too freakshowy for me. But last night I caught a couple of minutes of the intriguingly-named 'Mutant Devils (NB it's about Tasmanian Devils with facial tumours - the video on that site is extremely graphic about that. Also, I don't have any sound. There could well be squealing). It seemed to be a fairly heart-wrenching story. And they're kinda cute, those devils, like whiskery little bears. Not so nice by nature, though.
Anyhow, it got me thinking about ugly animals. I know it's all subjective. But how? I don't get it. There's not really any consensus.
I remember an episode of 'Animal Park' where they featured tapirs. The presenters were going on and on about how cute they were and all I could focus on was that freaky, weird nose, wiggling about in all kinds of wrong ways. I feel obliged to admit I don't think guinea pigs and hamsters are that cute either. I don't think they're ugly in a tapir kind of way, but I'm decidedly neutral when it comes to having an opinion on their aesthetic appeal.
Having said that, it's necessary for me to showcase my absolute favourite stereotypically 'ugly' animal, The Fabulous Warthog. (okay, so those are atypically cute pictures; in reality, you're more likely to encounter something like this. Still, I don't see how that's any more ugly than, say, a rhino.
I would love to see a warthog. They are incredible animals. They're about the size of a very large pig, but what I find most astonishing is that they live underground in self-dug burrows. Try to imagine it, an oversized, hairless goat-type creature, digging out a maze of tunnels underground and living in them. That's like if we had to dig underground houses by hand. Incredible. These excavators extraordinaire run about, remarkably fast given their physical appearance, chasing, snuffling and snorting and generally going about their business in an enthusiastic way. Honestly - what's not to like? Don't say they're ugly. But I have to admit, I did laugh when a presenter was interviewing a gamekeeper in Africa, and the warthogs were fighting:
Presenter(nervously): Those warthogs look very angry.
Game Warden: Yes. It's because they're ugly.
I'm such a fan of British Wildlife, but outside of that I'm thinking that the warthog is easily one of my favourite animals.
Oh, and while I was looking for pictures, I came across a slightly bizarre article...Urgently Needed: Warthog Head...at least they explained why, right?
I finally feel like I could set up some tags. I have an actual, solid category - wildlife. Maybe...
I've avoided the bizarre world of five's 'Nature Shock' - the titles ('Half-Man, Half-Tree', anyone?) have been enough to put me off, along with the promo pics. It's all a bit too freakshowy for me. But last night I caught a couple of minutes of the intriguingly-named 'Mutant Devils (NB it's about Tasmanian Devils with facial tumours - the video on that site is extremely graphic about that. Also, I don't have any sound. There could well be squealing). It seemed to be a fairly heart-wrenching story. And they're kinda cute, those devils, like whiskery little bears. Not so nice by nature, though.
Anyhow, it got me thinking about ugly animals. I know it's all subjective. But how? I don't get it. There's not really any consensus.
I remember an episode of 'Animal Park' where they featured tapirs. The presenters were going on and on about how cute they were and all I could focus on was that freaky, weird nose, wiggling about in all kinds of wrong ways. I feel obliged to admit I don't think guinea pigs and hamsters are that cute either. I don't think they're ugly in a tapir kind of way, but I'm decidedly neutral when it comes to having an opinion on their aesthetic appeal.
Having said that, it's necessary for me to showcase my absolute favourite stereotypically 'ugly' animal, The Fabulous Warthog. (okay, so those are atypically cute pictures; in reality, you're more likely to encounter something like this. Still, I don't see how that's any more ugly than, say, a rhino.
I would love to see a warthog. They are incredible animals. They're about the size of a very large pig, but what I find most astonishing is that they live underground in self-dug burrows. Try to imagine it, an oversized, hairless goat-type creature, digging out a maze of tunnels underground and living in them. That's like if we had to dig underground houses by hand. Incredible. These excavators extraordinaire run about, remarkably fast given their physical appearance, chasing, snuffling and snorting and generally going about their business in an enthusiastic way. Honestly - what's not to like? Don't say they're ugly. But I have to admit, I did laugh when a presenter was interviewing a gamekeeper in Africa, and the warthogs were fighting:
Presenter(nervously): Those warthogs look very angry.
Game Warden: Yes. It's because they're ugly.
I'm such a fan of British Wildlife, but outside of that I'm thinking that the warthog is easily one of my favourite animals.
Oh, and while I was looking for pictures, I came across a slightly bizarre article...Urgently Needed: Warthog Head...at least they explained why, right?
I finally feel like I could set up some tags. I have an actual, solid category - wildlife. Maybe...