“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)

In Mumbai, the windows of new high-rise apartment blocks, old low-rise residential buildings and shantytown shacks portray the disparity in living conditions and incomes in the Indian city. Rents for a place to live range from more than $2,000 to less than $5 a month. Here: Windows and doors of an old residential building are pictured in central Mumbai October 10, 2014. The cost for buying a residential apartment in Mumbai close to the city centre ranges from 12,000 Indian rupees ($ 200) per square feet to 112,552 Indian rupees ($ 1800) per square feet. (Photo by Danish Siddiqui/Reuters)

“I was born in the United States in 1985. As early as I can remember I’ve been a “doodler”. From even the early days I’ve always loved strange, offbeat, beautiful, and slightly melancholy things. Something about the mixed grabbed me. My love for sketching carried on throughout my high school days. Which is when I took a small class on watercolor. Watercolor is what birthed my passion for mixing colors and how a color can tell a story. In year 2009 I discovered digital painting and my new found passion for the medium. It’s been the favored medium for the past years since. I’ve used online tutorials and videos to help me learn along the way and then in late 2011 I took a workshop called Becoming a Better Artist. The beginning of 2013 I won a class from The Art Department which will start this spring.”

A Russian Orthodox believers dips in the icy water during a traditional Epiphany celebration in St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, January 19, 2022. Thousands of Russian Orthodox Church followers plunged into icy rivers and ponds across the country to mark Epiphany, cleansing themselves with water deemed holy for the day. The temperature in St. Petersburg is –1C (30F). (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

People get covered with powdered colors to celebrate the Holi festival in Bangalore, India on March 21, 2019. Holi is observed at the end of the winter season on the last full moon day of the lunar month Phalguna, which usually falls in the later part of February or March. (Photo by Jagadeesh N.V./EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A girl looks on at a diver dressed as Santa Claus performing during a promotional event for Christmas in Seoul, South Korea on December 3, 2021. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)