In an effort to raise awareness for endangered and aesthetically challenged animals, the Ugly Animal Preservation Society launched a campaign to decide its new mascot. The blobfish (Psychrolutes marcidus), a species which lives at great depths in the ocean and is rarely seen, has been voted the world's ugliest animal and the organization's new mascot.
More than 3,000 votes were cast online, with 795 going for the blobfish.
More than 200 species go extinct each day, and the Ugly Animal Preservation Society says that ugly animals need more help because of their less than "pin-up" appearance. Simon Watt, the society's president, says:
"We've needed an ugly face for endangered animals for a long time and I've been amazed by the public's reaction. For too long the cute and fluffy animals have taken the limelight but now the blobfish will be a voice for the mingers who always get forgotten."
