“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)

A couple dance tango for tourists at Caminito, a touristic hotspot of La Boca neighborhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina, October 15, 2016. (Photo by Enrique Marcarian/Reuters)

Private Harold L. Langhofer edges into the ball-turret, March 9, 1943. Curled in this position, he can turn the turret so that it fires in any direction. The turret can also be swung around so that the hatch opens into the plane, and the gunner can crawl into it while the Flying Fortress is in motion. (Photo by AP Photo)

“The Net thrower”. The fisherman are conducting activities on Situgunung Lake. Photo location: Situgunung lake, Sukabumi, West Java, Indonesia. (Photo and caption by Dody Kusuma/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Female members of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) honour guard stand behind a string to ensure that they are in a straight line before a welcoming ceremony for Russian President Vladimir Putin outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, June 25, 2016. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

A Buddhist nun walks along a path as a stupa is seen at a temple in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka October 16, 2016. (Photo by Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)

People react as a Canadian man wearing only a pair of shorts orders a drink from a fast food outlet in Gangneung Curling Centre on day 10 of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games on February 19, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Firefighters are seen through heat from flames as they battle the Apple fire near Banning, California on August 1, 2020. 4,125 acres have burn in Cherry Valley, about 2,000 people have received evacuation orders in the afternoon of August 1. Around 8PM the fire spread to 12,000 acres. (Photo by Josh Edelson/AFP Photo)