Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Take a good look at the WWF website, (World Wildlife Fund, not the other one) and what do you see? The giant panda, of course. Tigers. Gorillas. Cetaceans. The token reptile, a sea turtle. Generally cute and/or fuzzy, or, failing that, sleek and "handsome". Notice a pattern?

Well, the purpose of this blog is to change all that. Sure, cute fuzzies will sell calendars and mugs, but what about those endangered things whose faces even a mother might have issues loving? Just because they're ugly doesn't mean they're not important. Don't they deserve some attention?

This idea started with an essay. I'll blame the online college application process for saying "...or come up with your own topic!" After having written too many essays about peeling snake carcasses from the road for scientific study (more on that in a later post), I decided to take a different route. Pulling up the Ohio Endangered Wildlife List, I discovered that among the listings was a species of midge. A midge! You know, the relatively inconspicuous insects that go largely unnoticed by anyone except entomologists--unless you're swatting at a cloud of them. If that wasn't enough, they were joined by endangered lampreys, beetles, clams, and some of the aforementioned snakes. Well, that settled it. These were as imperiled, and at least as important as the black bear, whose stories have peppered state news. Where were the American burying beetle news features? The "Save the Wartyback Mussel" t-shirts? The Ohio lamprey plush toys?

Thus was born the concept of Endangered Ugly Things, whose goal is to promote awareness of all things both rare and repulsive. However, it currently consists of two members: me, who came up with the idea, and my summer roommate, who said "Y'know, you should make a Blog about that." So, here I am, to promote those endangered things with no good looks, charm, or possibly even appendages, and to give them their time in the spotlight.

I plan on updating with new profiles of Endangered Ugly Things every weekend. I'd be glad to hear of any news concerning "EUTs", or suggestions for an upcoming profile.