An Australian study on wildlife research warns that 'ugly' animals are being overlooked by scientists in favor of more aesthetically-pleasing species.
An examination of over 300 research papers looked at the attention afforded to 'good' animals like koalas and kangaroos, 'bad' animals such as invasive species, and 'ugly' animals, including rodents and bats.
The findings revealed that the photogenic and iconic species received an overwhelming amount of attention compared to their less-charismatic counterparts.
Ironically, with the Australian government also funding research into invasive species, those pernicious creatures were also found to be more studied that the simply 'ugly' animals.
Despite their poor standing in research papers, the 'ugly' mammals account for a whopping 45 percent of the native animals in Australia.
In light of the study, wildlife experts cautioned that, by being overlooked by researchers, these unsightly animals faced increased dangers as threats to their habitat are poorly understood.
Hopefully the findings will help inspire further interest in nature's less-attractive species, since we wouldn't want to imagine a world without
Source: abc.net.au