“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)

The winners of The London’s Natural History Museum's prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year for 2013 have finally been unveiled. Selected from almost 43,000 entries from 96 countries, the winners offer a glimpse of the stunning array of natural beauty on our planet. Photo: Canada: “Lucky pounce”. “Anticipating the pounce – that was the hardest part”, says Connor, who had come to Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA, in search of wildlife as much as the spectacular landscape. He had found this fox, his first ever, on his last day in the park. It was so absorbed in hunting that Connor had plenty of time to get out of the car and settle behind a rock. It quartered the grassland, back and forth, and then started staring intently at a patch of ground, giving Connor just enough warning of the action to come. When it sprung up, Connor got his shot. And when it landed, the fox got his mouse. (Photo by Connor Stefanison/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013)

“Eye of a toad”. Animal Portraits, Łukasz Bożycki, Poland. Early spring sees a pond near Łukasz’s home city of Warsaw, Poland, full of mating frogs and a few toads. On this March day, Łukasz shared the pond with them for an evening, sitting in the icy water in his chest-high waders, keeping as still as possible, despite the numbing cold, so that the amphibians could get used to him. “I wanted to find a fresh way of portraying the amphibians”, he says, “at water level”. Using a telephoto lens, he focused on one lone toad and waited for the sun to dip almost below the horizon before pressing the shutter, using flash to bring out the details in the shadow. His prize was “the glorious pool of sunset colour” and fiery glow of the toad’s eye. Nikon D80 + 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 lens + extension tube; 1/125 sec at f9 (-2.3 e/v); ISO 100; built-in flash. (Photo by Łukasz Bożycki)

A 6-month old female giant panda cub, an offspring of Xing Xing, formerly known as Fu Wa and Liang Liang, formerly known as Feng Yi, plays at the Giant Panda Conservation Center at the National Zoo in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, February 18, 2016. (Photo by Joshua Paul/AP Photo)

Photo taken on September 19, 2015 shows a baby Brazilian opossum at the “Parque Estoril” zoo in Sao Bernardo do Campo of Sao Paulo, Brazil. According to local press, the “Parque Estoril” zoo houses currently 23 orphan cubs of wild animals rescued in the south region of Sao Paulo, victims of illegal wildlife trade or problems caused by urban growth. According to the zoo, all the animals arrived in the last three months, and many of them, not being able to be reintroduced to their natural habitat, will be used as examples in environmental education classes. (Photo by Rahel Patrasso/Xinhua via ZUMA Wire)

“Wong Maye-E joined AP as a staff photographer in 2003. Based in Singapore, Maye-E's work is centered around Sports reportage, entertainment, politics, and regional news stories. Maye-E has covered headlining events such as the 2014 World Cup, Thailand political protests, and the devastation of the Philippines Typhoon”. – Associated Press. Photo: A baby black howler monkey (Alouatta caraya) clings onto its mother's back on Thursday January 29, 2009 in Singapore where it's national zoo is actively involved in the conservation and education of wildlife reserves. (Photo by Wong Maye-E/AP Photo)

A barber cuts hair of his client at a shuttered market during the countrywide traders strike in Lahore on October 29, 2019. Pakistani traders have joined hands to observe a nationwide shutterdown strike against the government over its “anti-business” policies, seeking to bring trade and economic activities across the country to a standstill on October 29 and 30. (Photo by Arif Ali/AFP Photo)

Overlooking qingshuitan Wetland Park in the air, thousands of Chinese fir trees turn green. Gaoyou City, Jiangsu Province, China, April 20, 2020. April 22 is world earth day. (Photo credit should read Costfoto/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)