“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)

Gothic enthusiast poses during the annual Wave-Gotik-Treffen music festival on May 26, 2012 in Leipzig, Germany. The event began in the 1990s and has since grown into one of the biggest gatherings of Goth scene followers in Europe with around 20,000 participants. (Photo by Adam Berry)

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi attends the inauguration ceremony of Jacob Zuma on May 9, 2009 in Pretoria, South Africa. Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is South Africa's fourth President since the end of apartheid. (Photo by Foto24/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

The hard-worked hands of Jacaba Coaquira, 80, holding the green beans she grew on her land. This year the production of her land was affected by lack of rain and early cold weather that froze the crops before they finished growing. Santiago de Okola, Bolivia. (Photo by Renée C. Byer/Living on a Dollar a Day)

South Korean college students wearing masks hold up candles as they march after a rally calling for South Korean President Park Geun-hye to step down in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, November 12, 2016. Hundreds of thousands of people flooded Seoul's streets on Saturday demanding the resignation of Park amid an explosive political scandal, in what may be South Korea's largest protest since it shook off dictatorship three decades ago. (Photo by Lee Jin-man/AP Photo)

Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator’s Lower College Lawn in Scotland on October 21, 2019. The messy display is the culmination of a weekend of festivities where first years say thank you to their more senior student “parents” for mentoring them. (Photo by Jane Barlow/PA Images via Getty Images)

A girl wearing a Santa hat surfs at Bondi Beach on December 25, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. December is one of the hottest months of the year across Australia, with Christmas Day traditionally involving a trip to the beach and celebrations outdoors. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)

American rapper Doja Cat performs on stage during the Balmain Festival as part of Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2022 at La Seine Musicale on September 29, 2021 in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)