“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)

Students from Glasgow Art School modelling casual clothing and Buchan tartan in the annual Fashion Show for charities. During Rag Week students parade in the city streets wearing costumes designed and made by themselves. (Photo by Haywood Magee/Picture Post/Getty Images). 7th February 1953

A hand out picture released by Queensland police on November 7, 2016 shows a police officer taking care of a baby koala in Brisbane Australian police made one of their more unusual finds when they uncovered a baby koala hidden in the bag of a woman they stopped in the street. (Photo by AFP Photo/Queensland Police)

In this May 3, 2016 photo provided by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, a deer with its head caught in the globe from a lighting fixture over its head stands in the woods in Centereach, N.Y. The deer was able to extricate itself with the help of Environmental Conservation Officer, Jeff Hull. Hull wrestled with the deer for a while and the globe shook free in the process. (Photo by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation via AP Photo)

A group of youngsters dressed as ghouls and zombies for Halloween parade in downtown Lisbon, Portugal, Friday, October 31, 2014. (Photo by Francisco Seco/AP Photo)

Dozens of people practice martial arts before the regional Government's headquarters in Barcelona, Spain, 27 July 2020, as a protest against the closure of gyms and martial arts centers in the region imposed by the Catalan Government due to a surge in coronavirus cases. (Photo by Enric Fontcuberta/EPA/EFE)

Protesters wearing inflatable breasts stand outside Facebook's headquarters in central London on Wednesday September 1, 2021, to complain about the social media giant's images algorithm. The aim of the event is for all medical tattoo artists and breast cancer survivors to be able to freely post images without the pictures being removed and the accounts blocked. (Photo by Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images)

A model presents a creation from the Tom Ford Spring/Summer 2023 collection during New York Fashion Week in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., September 14, 2022. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)