Aww, isn't that cute

Since it's my duty to keep you informed about various polls from around the world, it is my pleasure to inform you that the World Wildlife Fund is running a survey to find the world's cutest animal. Online voting is currently open to whittle 40 animals down to 5 semifinalists. This round of voting goes until the end of August, with the finals being voted on September 1 through 20. You can vote for your 5 favorite now at:

http://wwf.worldwildlife.org/site/PageNavigator/WCA2007_Phase1

Of the 40, the ones we saw on our trip (in the wild) included: bison, blue-footed booby, iguana, penguin, sea lion, sea turtle, seal, tortoise and whale. We missed seeing the nocturnal black-footed ferret in South Dakota. We also saw a few more (notably panda) in various zoos we visited.

Of course, like most lists, this one is also heavily biased, as the WWF seems to give major extra points for being endangered and basically the poll is designed to raise awareness of endangered species. I mean, where are the alpacas and llamas? Just be aware that by voting, your email address might be added to WWF mailing lists.

My five were panda, blue-footed booby, tortoise, sea turtle and, of course, penguin. There were at least 5 more animals I could have included if I had had more votes.