This baking competition aims to highlight Australia's threatened species, but 'ugly' ones are missing out

Each year the federal government holds a social media 'bake off' to raise awareness for Australia's endangered species — but there are concerns some of them aren't getting enough attention.

The Threatened Species Bake Off encourages people to bake cakes in the shape of endangered flora and fauna. Source: Facebook / Threatened Species Commissioner

Key Points

• The Threatened Species Bake Off aims to build awareness about Australia’s threatened wildlife.
• Entrants are encouraged to bake in the shape of a threatened species and share their efforts on social media.
• Researchers say popular animals such as koalas receive more attention than less-cute species.

Baked goods are a sweet means of attracting attention, and a national competition is doing exactly that to help Australia's endangered species.

Each year, the Threatened Species Bake Off aims to raise awareness and interest in the community about native plants and animals at risk of extinction.

But while some animals - such as koalas, birds, and bilbies - are firm favourites amongst bakers, less cute or cuddly creatures appear to be losing out.

What is the Threatened Species Bake Off?

The competition has been run annually by the federal government for the past six years and aims to raise awareness about Australia's threatened species.

Entrants are invited to bake a dessert in the shape of a threatened species and share it with the Threatened Species Commissioner on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

This Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat cake was submitted by Cathryn in the 'open' category of the Threatened Species Bake Off. Source: Facebook / Threatened Species Commissioner

The competition has categories for children aged under four, children aged five to 15, individuals over 15, schools, organisations, and people's choice.

Cute animals take the cake

While the competition aims to offer a light-hearted and engaging means of raising awareness, the entries uploaded online also reveal a pattern.

Researchers from the University of Sydney say there is a "clear bias" toward cute and cuddly animals, who routinely receive more attention in conversations and initiatives geared toward the protection of endangered species.

This red handfish cake, entered by Oliver and Isla, was one of only a few fish entries in the baking competition. Source: Facebook / Threatened Species Commissioner

Eliza Middleton, Caitlyn Forster, and Dieter Hochuli examined entries from 2017 to 2021, and found koalas, echidnas, and wombats were consistently depicted in the baked goods, while plants and invertebrates featured far less prominently.

The researchers said plants are frequently forgotten when considering nature and conservation.

"Many of the species in the Albanese government’s 2022-2032 Threatened Species Action Plan are birds and mammals - species considered much more charismatic than a plant or invertebrate," they wrote.

"The action plan includes 14 per cent of threatened mammals and 13 per cent of threatened birds – and just 2 per cent of threatened plants."

According to the researchers, this is representative of the lack of attention, knowledge and funding certain species receive.

"While the bake-off is well-intentioned, our results highlight a massive gap in conservation messaging," the researchers wrote in an article published by The Conversation.

"Unless we build the profile of our lesser-loved plants, invertebrates, frogs and fish, we’ll certainly see more species vanish."

The government's action plan includes 110 priority species to protect, comprised of 22 birds, 21 mammals, nine fish, six frogs, 11 reptiles,11 invertebrates and 30 plants.

According to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, Australia has 226 species of critically endangered flora - which refers to plants - and 93 critically endangered species of fauna, which encompasses animals including reptiles and birds.