They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but in this instance no one could ever say any of these creatures are attractive. They might be adorable (sort of), but they are ugly as sin nevertheless.
Mole rats and bats are the animals that always look like they have had a run-in with the Ugly Wizard; for canines, it seems as if the Chinese Crested breed is up there in the world's most ugly as well.
Why This Trend Is Growing
- Ugly Animal Tourism
- The rise of unpopular and visually unpresentable animals as focal points for eco-tourism and conservation efforts presents opportunities to explore new ways to tap into non-traditional tourism markets.
- Ugly Animal Merchandising
- The growing attention given to quirky and odd-looking animals presents a potential opportunity to drive product demand by leveraging the uniqueness of these creatures as marketing assets—for example, merchandise featuring Chinese Crested dogs.
- Ugly Animal Conservation
- The charismatic appeal of flagship animals has long been used to attract public attention for conservation initiatives, and there is potential to tap into the same concept with less aesthetically pleasing creatures.
Industries Being Reshaped
- Eco-tourism
- Tourism companies focused on adventure and offbeat tour packages providing travellers an opportunity to witness ugly animal species can make a significant headway in the tourism industry.
- Merchandising
- Product merchandising companies can invest in creating unique product lines featuring ugly and unconventional animals, such as the Chinese Crested dog and achieve an added advantage due to the unique selling point.
- Conservation
- Conservation critics can put more effort into highlighting the beneficial role and existence of the less popular and visually unattractive animal species in the ecosystem.
