“Cassowaries are large, flightless birds related to emus and (more distantly) to ostriches, rheas, and kiwis”, writes Olivia Judson in the September issue of National Geographic magazine. How large? People-size: Adult males stand well over five foot five and top 110 pounds. Females are even taller, and can weigh more than 160 pounds. Dangerous when roused, they’re shy and peaceable when left alone. But even birds this big and tough are prey to habitat loss. The dense New Guinea and Australia rain forests where they live have dwindled. Today cassowaries might number 1,500 to 2,000. And because they help shape those same forests – by moving seeds from one place to another – “if they vanish”, Judson writes, “the structure of the forest would gradually change” too. (Photo by Christian Ziegler/National Geographic)

An Israeli boy swims next to sheep belonging to a Palestinian farmer in the West Bank village of Al-Auja in the Jordan Valley on April 8, 2015 during the Jewish Passover holiday. Thousands of Israelis spent the day outdoors, picnicking and touring the country during the eight-day Passover holiday, which commemorates the Israelites' exodus from Egypt some 3,500 years ago. (Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP Photo)

Charlene Wittstock (L) and Prince Albert II of Monaco (R) attend the singles Final match between Rafael Nadal of Spain and Roger Federer of Switzerland on day nine of the Monte Carlo Masters Series tennis tournament. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images). 2008

The original costumes for Star Wars character Darth Vader stand on display at “Star Wars: The Exhibition” at County hall on May 04, 2007 in London, England. (Photo by MJ Kim/Getty Images)

A worker inspects the Christ the Redeemer statue which was damaged during lightning storms in Rio de Janeiro January 21, 2014. (Photo by Severino Silva/Reuters/Agência o Dia)

Photographer Lori Nix hand-crafted dioramas are fictional scenes of a post-apocalyptic world in which plants and decay reclaim both grand and mundane structures. Each structure is built in Nix's living room and can take over half a year to build. Photo: Library, 2007. Photographer Lori Nix says this is the most popular image she has made for this project that she calls “The City”. (Photo by Lori Nix)

In this handout photograph received from the Delhi Police at the scene of the incident, an Indian schoolboy is confronted by a white tiger inside its enclosure at the Delhi Zoo in New Delhi on September 23, 2014. A white tiger on September 23 attacked and killed a schoolboy who appeared to have jumped or fallen into its enclosure at the zoo in the Indian capital, witnesses said. (Photo by AFP Photo/Delhi Police)

“The king of herrings or giant oarfish, an oarfish of the family Regalecidae, is the world's longest bony fish. Its total length has been documented to reach 17 m (56 ft), and it can weigh up to 300 kg (661 lb)”. – Wikipedia