“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)

A dog dressed as Oscar the Grouch takes part in the annual halloween dog parade at Manhattan's Tompkins Square Park in New York, NY, U.S. on October 21, 2017. (Photo by Lucas Jackson/Reuters)

Low economic conditions in China’s urban areas have sparked an increase of beggars faking disabilities in an attempt to gain more money. Cities like Shanghai and Hong Kong are littered with naive tourists who are more than willing to hand over a few yen to anyone appearing to be handicapped in anyway.

#1: Superman. According to McAfee, 16.50% of Web searches for Superman led to sites with viruses and other malicious software. Pictured here: The Superman costume that was worn by Christopher Reeve in “Superman: The Movie” on display at Profiles In History in Calabasas, northwest of downtown Los Angeles, on July 19, 2012 in California. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown/AFP Photo)

Marieke van der Meer from the Netherlands works on her sculpture “Flora” at the sand sculpture show in Binz on Ruegen island, Germany, 09 March 2016. With the motto “Fascination Nature”, 50 sand artists have created oversized sculptures. The sculptors use 16,000 tons of special sand that is pressed into big blocks first and then formed. The 7th sand sculpture show on 5,600 square meters of exhibition ground opens on 12 March 2016. (Photo by Ens Buettner/EPA)

A picture taken on October 17, 2017 shows Madame Tussauds museum's wax figure of US President displayed along the East Side Gallery section of the Wall in Berlin during a photo session. The wax figure will be displayed at Madame Tussauds museum in Berlin from October 20, 2017. (Photo by Jens Kalaene/AFP Photo/DPA)

A girl smiles as her hair is blown by a strong wind in the Chinatown area in Yokohama, near Tokyo, Friday, January 27, 2017. (Photo by Koji Sasahara/AP Photo)

A golden huddle by Minqiang Lu, China. Two females and a male golden snub-nosed monkey huddle together to keep warm in the extreme cold. Threatened by forest loss and fragmentation, this endangered species is confined to central China. Restricted to living high up in the temperate forests, these monkeys – here in the Qinling mountains in Shaanxi province – feed mostly in the trees, on leaves, bark, buds and lichen. In heavy wind and snow, Minqiang walked up the mountain carrying his equipment. He stayed for half an hour in temperatures of –10C opposite the tree where the group was huddled before achieving this eye-level composition. (Photo by Minqiang Lu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)