Judges watch athletes during the women's individual compact NH 5km competition at the Nordic Combined World Cup in Ramsau, Austria, Saturday, December 16, 2023. (Photo by Matthias Schrader/AP Photo)

American fashion model Karlie Kloss poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” at the 76th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Thursday, May 18, 2023. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP Photo)

“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)

Gold medallists of China perform Synchronised Swimming Free Combination routine at the Munhak Park Tae-hwan Aquatics Center during the 17th Asian Games in Incheon September 23, 2014. (Photo by Tim Wimborne/Reuters)

Taras Mychalewych, 75, poses for a portrait with his vaccination card after receiving his coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at a rural vaccination site in Columbus, New Mexico, U.S., April 16, 2021. (Photo by Paul Ratje/Reuters)

South Korean residents 89-year-old Jeong Nam-poong and 80-year-old Jang Yoon-hui , wearing protective masks, dance at park after their daytime discotheque “colatec” has been closed amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Seoul, South Korea, May 19, 2020. (Photo by Minwoo Park/Reuters)

New York City FC midfielder Valentin Castellanos (11) falls after battling Columbus Crew defender Aboubacar Keita (30) for a high ball during the second half at Red Bull Arena in New York, August 24, 2020. (Photo by Vincent Carchietta/USA TODAY Sports)

Turkey's Yamaha rider Toprak Razgatlioglu celebrates winning the world championship during the World Superbike Championship at the Mandalika International Circuit in Kuta Mandalika, in central Lombok on November 21, 2021. (Photo by Bay Ismoyo/AFP Photo)