Australia's most underrated native animal? Decide this Science Week

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

RELEASED: Friday 1 August 2025

Australia’s Most Underrated Native Animal?

ABC Wants You to Decide This Science Week

As part of National Science Week 2025, ABC Radio National is calling on audiences to vote for Australia’s Most Underrated Native Animal. These aren’t the usual cuddly crowd-pleasers, but the ugly, the annoying, and the lesser-known creatures that are often overlooked, under-conserved, and underappreciated.

With input from wildlife experts, conservation organisations, and social media, ABC Radio National has curated a list of ten incredible native animals that deserve more love and attention.

The ten animals vying for the title of Australia’s Most Underrated Native Animal are:

• Dugong
• Ghost bat
• Giant cuttlefish
• Great desert skink
• Marsupial mole
• Palm cockatoo
• Rakali (water rat)
• Short-finned eel
• Turtle frog
• Velvet worm

These species may not be household names, but they play vital roles in Australia’s ecosystems and face unique conservation challenges.

Dr Ann Jones from Radio National podcast What the Duck?! says: “We are trying to do the impossible here and rate what may be unrateable, vote on what may be un-findable, but most of all, find out as much as we can about animals which live their entire lives outside the spotlight of popular consciousness.

“Australia is full of incredibly weird and wonderful creatures, far beyond the koalas and kangaroos and quokkas. It’s high time that we all know about the plasma shooting velvet worm, roller-coaster swimming eels and the skinks that have bathrooms built into their homes.”

To find out more about these underdogs, and to cast your vote, head to the ABC website: abc.net.au/underrated

Get behind your choice on social media – or make the case for a creature that didn’t make the ABC’s list! The livelier the conversation, the more we can raise awareness of these fascinating creatures and the conservation efforts working to protect them. You can even print a poster to encourage others to get involved.

The winner will be announced live on air on ABC Radio National and via a live blog on ABC NEWS on Friday 15 August, starting from 12pm AEST.

Plus, ABC NEWS, ABC Radio National, ABC Local, ABC iview and ABC’s social media accounts will be sharing lots of fascinating interviews and stories about our underrated animals between 9-17 August.

Let’s celebrate the wild, weird, and wonderful side of Australian wildlife this Science Week.

ABC’s underrated native animal project is the online initiative for National Science Week 2025, undertaken by ABC Science with funding through the Australian Government’s Inspiring Australia strategy.

For media enquiries, interview or more information, please contact:

Amy Reiha, ABC Publicity

[email protected]

0404 026 039

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work.