Save Australia’s Ugly Animals with Zoë Bell

Australia’s Wilderness Society has launched ‘Save Ugly’ – a radical new conservation campaign to raise awareness of all the ‘ugly’ creatures that help make life possible, warts and all. To mark the launch, the society has enlisted Hollywood actresses Rosario Dawson and Cate Blanchett, amongst others, to feature in a three-minute musical comedy film, directed by New Zealand stuntwoman Zoë Bell.

Dressed as an Ethmia Clytodoxa Moth, the film features Dawson singing her way around Australia’s lesser known, uglier animals that help keep the world’s ecosystems functioning – such as the green, mohawk-wearing Mary River Turtle which breathes through its genitals, and the Southern Right Whale whose faeces provides much-needed nutrients to the ocean’s phytoplankton.

The campaign raises awareness that despite their ugliness, these quirky qualities are crucial for soil improvement, pollination, aquatic food webs and water purification.

Commenting on her involvement, Bell said, “Everything about this project just felt good, start to finish. The guys at The Wilderness Society are amazing – taking a deeply worthy cause, and coming up with an entirely fresh concept. I feel so honoured to be a part of it.”

Original article by Kate Donnelly, B&T, June 20, 2018.