“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)

Beachgoers watch the detonation of a 500 pound British bomb on the beach on May 19, 2014 in Wassenaar, Netherlands. The bomb was dropped by the British allied forces during the second world war over nearby Leiden where it was found on a building site. (Photo by Michel Porro/Getty Images)

American television personality, author and former model Brandi Glanville is seen on June 7, 2018 in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by GP/Star Max/GC Images)

A former living goddess Kumari, middle, watches the Indra Jatra festival, an eight-day festival that honors Indra, the Hindu god of rain, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, September 13, 2019. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)

Nathan Sawaya is a New York-based artist who creates awe-inspiring works of art out of some of the most unlikely things. His recent global museum exhibitions feature large-scale sculptures using only toy building blocks. LEGO bricks to be exact. Photo: “Blue man sits in chair”. (Photo by Nathan Sawaya/The Art of the Brick)

Lily Nguyen of Jessop, from Maryland, leaps up in the air as a friend takes her photo in front of cherry blossoms which have reached their peak bloom, along the Tidal Basin, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 21, 2022. (Photo by Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Jared Leto poses with fans for a selfie during the “Clear Channel Media and Entertainment” at the 2014 Cannes Lions on June 18, 2014 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Didier Baverel/WireImage)

Actress Laverne Cox attends The 59th GRAMMY Awards at STAPLES Center on February 12, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS)