“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 newborn baby giraffe shows its tongue at the Planckendael zoo in Mechelen, 25 kilometers North of Brussels, Tuesday, February 18, 2014. The calf was born on Valentines day, February 14, and has a heart shaped spot on the hip. (Photo by Yves Logghe/AP Photo)

Cast member Ana de Armas poses during a photocall for the film “Hands of stone” out of competition at the 69th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 16, 2016. (Photo by Regis Duvignau/Reuters)

A general view of atmosphere at the annual VOLT Festival in Sopron, 208 kms west of Budapest, Hungary on August 16, 2016. (Photo by Mudra László/Rockstar Photographers)

This image released by Neon shows Matthew McConaughey in a scene from “The Beach Bum”. (Photo by Atsushi Nishijima/Neon via AP Photo)

Marry Ousmane, 18, poses outside while wearing her prom dress on May 29, 2020 in the Brooklyn borough in New York City. Marry Ousmane is best friends with Patrice Toussaint and both are seniors at Edward Murrow high school in Brooklyn whose senior prom was canceled due to all schools being closed during the coronavirus pandemic. Toussaint said, “I've been planning for four years. I was going to have a send off party with a barbecue and a red carpet. I was going to have two dresses and wear a crown”. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

360Cities PRO member Andrew Bodrov has just published another stunning panorama stitched from images taken by the Curiosity Rover on Mars. Photo: “Mars Panorama – Curiosity Rover: Martian Solar Day 177” (Photo by NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Andrew Bodrov)

Karis, an 8 week old lion cub, growls at a pumpkin as she explores a Halloween treat put in her enclosure by staff at Blair Drummond Safari Park near Stirling, Scotland, Tuesday, October 29, 2013. (Photo by Andrew Milligan/AP Photo/PA Wire)