“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 impressive gallery shows beautiful landscapes that might appear to be from more exotic climes, but they were all taken on British soil. Alessio Putzu, 31, a professional landscape photographer from London, snapped the amazing shots during his trips to Devon and Cornwall, England; Pembrokeshire, Wales; and the Isle of Skye, Scotland. Here: Bedruthan Steps, Cornwall. (Photo by Alessio Putzu/Caters News Agency)

A woman attends a banned demonstration planned in memory of Adama Traore, a 24-year old black Frenchman who died in a 2016 police operation which some have likened to the death of George Floyd, in front of a courthouse in Paris, France on June 2, 2020. (Photo by Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters)

Undated handout photo issued by Carhenge Glastobury of the Carhenge installation by artist Joe Rush, on the site of Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset. Made of 24 vintage cars erected in the centre of the festival, the installation emulates the ancient stone structure at Stonehenge. Issue date: Tuesday, June 20, 2023. (Photo by Matt Cardy/PA Wire Press Association)

Dancers from the British theater company Motionhouse perform a show with excavators entitled “Traction” on the Prado beach in Marseille, France, on May 10, 2013. (Photo by Boris Horvat/AFP Photo)

Highly commended, mammals: Gelada after the storm – Marco Gaiotti (Italy). “Gelada baboons are the only monkey species in the world that feed on grasses. They are native to the tableland of Ethiopia. Every morning large family groups wander from their sleeping places in the steep rock face, up to 1,000 metres high, to the feeding grounds at the tablelands. This image clearly depicts their feeding strategy: they pull out bunches of grass, sort the stalks and then lift them to their mouth. This shot was taken towards the end of the rainy season after a heavy storm”. (Photo by Marco Gaiotti/2019 GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

In a handout picture released by the Brit Awards English singer-songwriter Dua Lipa poses with her awards for Female Solo Artist and British Album at the BRIT Awards 2021 in London on May 11, 2021. (Photo by John Marshall/Handout via Reuters)

A car is submerged in flood water at an apartment complex in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, Thursday, October 10, 2024, in Clearwater, Fla. (Photo by Mike Stewart/AP Photo)