The Ugly Five of Africa – They are critical and vital in the ecosystem as well.
These animals are not the supermodels of the African wild, but these wildlife species make up for it by being interesting.
WARTHOG
When your name includes the word “wart” you’re destined to be on this list. Add in a face that can be a mangled mess, surrounded by wispy hair and tough little tusks and the warthog is an obvious selection among the Ugly Five.
VULTURE
While the lappet-faced vulture is the official member of this list, pretty much any vulture could be a member of the Ugly Five. As scavengers, their role in cleaning up carcasses of dead animals leaves a bit to be desired. While impressive in size, they’re not so impressive in looks.
WILDEBEEST
What is it really? Who knows. When wildebeests were created they seemed to receive some leftover pieces of other animals. A bit like a horse, a bit like a buffalo. It’s really an antelope. Somehow predators still find them tasty, so they serve some purpose. We have two species of Wildebeests in Africa, the black and blue wildebeest. The black wildebeest is mostly found in East Africa while the blue wildebeest mostly found in the southern part of Africa.
MARABOU STORK
Nicknamed the “Undertaker”, this is one mean bird you don’t want to mess with. It is among the largest birds in the world with a wingspan of 11 feet. These birds are carnivores, eating anything from dead animal carcasses to fish and other birds.
HYENA
Baby hyena definitely has a cute-factor to them, but it does not take long for them to grow up and lose that appeal. Aggressive looking, with a strange profile and famously eerie vocals, the hyena easily fits into this list of misfits and ugly animals from Africa.
