The World's Ugliest Animals

The World’s Ugliest Animals

If the flathead catfish needs a trip to the beauty salon, the brushtail possum resembles a demon, and the Hawaiian hoary bat can frighten children, then only a warthog’s mother could love her offspring!

1. Rhinoceros

The sudden attacker with deadly weapons: The white rhino has two horns on its head, with the front horn being larger. It has a broad, square-shaped lower lip, a hump on its neck, and its hips are lower than its shoulders. The heaviest rhinos can weigh nearly 2.2 tons.

2. Flathead Catfish

Beauty is only skin deep: If that’s true, there’s still hope for the flathead catfish. This fish is famous for its whisker-like barbels around its mouth, its naked body, flattened head, and protruding lower jaw. Shy and reclusive, they spend much of their day hiding in burrows. Perhaps it’s time they considered a beauty makeover!

3. Brushtail Possum

As ugly as a demon: The brushtail possum, about the size of a cat and weighing 2-4 kg, is characterized by its bushy, prehensile tail, sharp claws, pointed snout, brown eyes, and protruding ears.

4. Hylobius Piceus

A creepy crawler: This insect, known for its long, pointed, oval face and black-and-yellow patterned body, also boasts long, thin legs. However, it’s the face that lands it on this list.

5. Almiqui

Back from the dead: Thought to be extinct for years, the almiqui was rediscovered in 2003 in Cuba’s eastern mountains. Celebrated as a species that “came back to life,” it has earned a rightful spot on the list of the “world’s ugliest creatures.”

6. Greater Vulture

The big-headed scavenger: Distinguished by its large, bright red, bald head – caused by its habit of burrowing into carcasses for food – the greater vulture is about 60-80 cm long with a wingspan of 1.8 meters and weighs nearly 3 kg. When in flight, its wings form a shallow V shape. This bird exemplifies “ugly” with a capital U.

7. Warthog

A face only a mother could love! The warthog is undeniably a contender for the ugliest animal. These peculiar pigs feature barrel-shaped bodies, massive heads adorned with six large warts, and curved tusks. They stand 60-80 cm tall and weigh around 50 kg.

8. Hawaiian Hoary Bat

Sympathy for the endangered: The Hawaiian hoary bat, a critically endangered species, sports brown and gray fur with a frosty appearance (but still looks unattractive). Its short, round ears are rimmed with black, and its dark golden throat is perhaps its most distinct – and disturbing – feature.

9. Opossum

Could it get any uglier? How can you resist the round, black eyes on their narrow, cone-shaped, white faces? Or their thick, dark fur and pink-black hairless ears? And those hand-like feet that make you feel connected to them? If you said yes to all these, you have our sympathy.

10. Brown Pelican

The brown pelican is a large bird found along the North American coasts of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf of Mexico. It measures about 1 meter long with a wingspan of 2.2 meters. Its pouch-like beak can hold up to three times the amount of food its stomach can contain.