“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)

Military officers look at an AR-10 sniper rifle at LAAD, the biggest military industry expo in Latin America in Sao Paulo, Brazil April 10, 2018. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

Determination: silver. Adam Pelech (No 3) of the New York Islanders and Brian Boyle of the Florida Panthers crash the boards during their game at Barclays Center in New York. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Members of the media film as a ranger performs a post mortem on the carcass of a rhino after it was killed for its horn by poachers at the Kruger national park in Mpumalanga province August 27, 2014. Rhino poachers in South Africa now risk giving themselves away when they shoot thanks to a high-tech, gunfire-detection system being piloted in the country's flagship Kruger National Park. The stakes are high, for rhinos are being slain in escalating numbers for their prized horns, alarming both conservationists and the government since wildlife in South Africa is an important tourist draw. (Photo by Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters)

Marina performs on stage at O2 Apollo Manchester on May 10, 2019 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Andrew Benge/Redferns)

Women dressed as a rabbit and a fox, who pose for pictures with tourists, walk in central Kiev, Ukraine April 4, 2018. (Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

People run for cover following a series of explosions in the Embakasi area of Nairobi on February 2, 2024. At least 30 people have been transferred to different hospitals, according to the Kenya Red Cross, after explosions rocked an industrial and residential area of the Kenyan capital. (Photo by Luis Tato/AFP Photo)

Owners and their dogs take part in “HK Doggie Dash 2018”, an event held to raise money for for abandoned and surrendered dogs in Hong Kong on April 15, 2018. Dozens of pugs and dachshunds compensated for their modest speed with peppy spirits at Hong Kong’s inaugural “doggie dash” on April 15 that raised funds and awareness for the city’s abandoned and rescued dogs. (Photo by Isaac Lawrence/AFP Photo)