It's no accident that the symbol of the World Wide Fund for Nature is a giant panda. These animals are cute or beautiful, or both, and of course we all want to save them. This popularity enables organisations such as the WWF to raise money to support a range of critically endangered species. However, less well-known or 'exciting' creatures are far more likely to become extinct because they don't get enough attention from researchers. Invertebrates (animals without a backbone) make up over 90% of all the creatures on Earth, but get only a tiny percentage of the money available to protect our wildlife.
And what about those creatures that many people would find positively ugly? With its tiny eyes, big mouth and slimy pink body, the blobfish is far from attractive. This marine creature lives deep in the ocean, where the pressure is very high. As a result, it has tiny fins and no skeleton, which keeps it from being crushed by the water pressure. Unfortunately, when fishing boats sweep the ocean floor, looking for other fish and crustaceans, these fish can get swept into the nets accidentally.
The threat faced by the pangolin, however, is far from accidental. They are more often targeted by poachers than any other animal in the world. Unique among mammals, it is covered in scales, like a reptile. They may not look very cuddly or cute, but these scales are highly prized in traditional Chinese medicine, which has caused the population of pangolins in China to fall by around 90% since the 1960s. Their scales protect them from their natural predators, but it's simple for a poacher to just pick them up.
Other creatures become endangered precisely because people find them ugly. Take the aye aye for example. Found only on the island of Madagascar, the aye aye is the world's largest nocturnal primate. During the day they sleep in nests in the trees, coming out to hunt at night. They are solitary creatures, furry, and harmless but unfortunately, they are often killed.