25 Ugliest Animals You Won’t Believe Are Real

Domesticated 3,000 years ago, camels are as fast as horses but have the added ability to travel extra distances without food or water, making them ideal for desert travel. Also, they’re hideous.

This vile mud beast of the lake somehow survived dinosaur extinction. It’s the Alligator Snapping Turtle. What it lacks in looks, it makes up for in ferocity. It’s the largest freshwater turtle in North America. With a shell length of 26 inches (66 cm’s) and a weight of 220 pounds (99.7 kg’s), it has no natural predators other than humans.

While it might be called the “Thunderbird,” the California Condor‘s massive wingspan and majestic soaring can’t fool us. Its pink, wrinkled neck, chapped face, and unibrow are sure to make the strongest stomachs reach for a brown paper bag.

Looking like it got run over by a steamroller, the Softshell Turtle is as ugly as its shell is useless. Its shell lacks the bony armor of its relatives, making it relatively easy to squash, and why it might be better off in captivity.

The Komondor Dog is essentially a living, breathing, four-legged Shamwow. While its ludicrously thick coat is supposed to protect it from harsh weather and predatory attacks, it’s likely to become an extra house rug when it meets its demise.

The Philippine Tarsier is so ugly scientists aren’t exactly sure how to classify the tiny varmint. Some have called it the “smallest monkey in the world.” However, technically, it’s not a monkey. Of its gross features, its gigantic, beady eyes rank at the very top. Stare into them for too long, and you might go insane.

With coarse skin, knobby features, and a long snout, the Matamata Turtle is like a rock that suddenly decided to come to life. Its neck and head are particularly long and disgusting. But, out of all its many offenses, its wide, menacing grin will likely haunt you forever. Sweet dreams.

Look on and weep at the wretched Star-Nosed Mole. Believe it or not, its octopus-like snout does have a purpose other than traumatizing little children. With 100,000 nerve fibers in it, it sends detailed information to the mole’s brain. 100,000 nerve fibers are about 5 times more than the human hand. It’s not only ugly but it’s also fast, capable of devouring its food in seconds.

The Sea Cow, also called a manatee, dugong, or massive waste of space, is likely one of the laziest creatures underwater. Resembling a giant potato with fins and the face of Anthony Wilford Brimley, it’s fair to say the Sea Cow will not be getting their own Disney cartoon anytime soon.

Naked Mole Rats are exactly as described. They look like a hot dog with legs and teeth. These wrinkly rodents work together like insects, serving their queen and gathering food for the colony to eat.

An aardvark is like a pig, rabbit, and opossum mixed into one. Remove its hair and you get the Baby Aardvark, a grotesque pink wrinkled beast of the night. Nocturnal by nature, the Baby Aardvark hides its ghastly presence from the world. We’re all very grateful.

This disgusting looking animal looks like something straight out of a horror film. However, it does have a pretty amazing ability: it can jut its jaw out of its mouth 3 inches to catch its prey!

It’s no Chikilidae, but let’s be honest, the Baird Tapir isn’t winning any beauty contests either. Considered “living fossils,” their species has not evolved for over 35 million years. Here’s to another 35 million years of staying ugly.

Without a nose, the Snub-Nosed Monkey is pretty creepy to look at it. With their black beady eyes, sharp yellow teeth, and hollow nose, you definitely wouldn’t want to be trapped in a dark room with this thing.

In contrast, the Proboscis Monkey has way too much nose. Even more bizarre, while we might find its giant snout ugly, it’s actually used as a way to attract mates and intimidate rivals.

Proboscis monkeys aren’t the only ones with a ugly snout! We know elephants are cute and seals are cute, but what about elephant seals? Maybe not quite so much.

A rare, deep-sea shark that scientists say hasn’t evolved since the dinosaurs, the Frill Shark is a swimmer’s worst nightmare. With 300-teeth and an ugly mug to boot, you wouldn’t want to meet it out in the ocean. While most of them stay pretty deep underwater, scientists found one swimming right off Portugal’s shore.

Swimming in the Indo-Pacific, the Longhorn Cowfish has the eyes of a frog and the body of a chicken drumstick. To be fair, most fish are pretty ugly, but the Longhorn Cowfish takes it to a whole new level.

In actuality, this animal looks more like The Beast from Beauty and the Beast rather than Pumba from The Lion King. While their warts won’t help them win any beauty contests, they do help when they go head to head in combat.

Like most vultures, the Sarcoramphus Papa, aka the King Vulture, is a scavenger and provides a valuable service in the animal kingdom by eating the dead and reducing the spread of disease. None of that makes up for the fact that its face looks like it was put into a blender.

The Red Lipped Batfish looks like it just put on a fresh coat of red lipstick all over its big lips. This thing is close to the epitome of ugly with spiky flesh and a body that looks like it was made to be an airplane and not a fish at all. Apparently, it’s also not a very good swimmer.

Thought to be extinct, the Almiqui was found by a farmer in Cuba, and we’re kind of wishing it hadn’t been. With long hair and a long snout, the Almiqui looks like a version of the ROUS’s in The Princess Bride.

The Blobfish is undoubtedly a putrid and stomach-churning sight to behold. Being voted the ugliest animal by the Ugly Animal Preservation Society, this fish screams “sad sack” in every way, fueling a whole host of memes in the process. However, the reason it looks so gross is due to the intense PSI 4,000 feet underwater. Once you bring it above water, it turns into a morose and gelatinous wretch.

The Chinese Crested Hairless Dog was bred to be a devoted and loyal companion; depending on where you’re standing, that might be a curse or a blessing. Many of these dogs have a large portion of their bodies entirely hairless, making them look more like freaks of nature rather than a dog you’d want to pet.

Found only in Madagascar, the Aye-Aye doesn’t look it, but they are related to humans. Much like a drunk step-uncle barging into the family Christmas party or a mad-scientist desperate to take over the world, the Aye-Aye’s unblinking yellow eyes will hypnotize you into submission, making you question your own humanity.