“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 sun bear (Ursus malayanus), also known as the honey bear, is a bear found primarily in the tropical rainforest (the dense lowland forests) in Southeast Asia; North-East India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Southern China, Peninsular Malaysia, and the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.
The golden monkey (Cercopithecus kandti) is a species of Old World monkey found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Central Africa, including four national parks: Mgahinga, in south-west Uganda; Volcanoes, in north-west Rwanda; and Virunga and Kahuzi-Biéga, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. It is restricted to highland forest, especially near bamboo.
Despite their thick fur, this group of dogs and puppies in China feel the cold. Luckily, in the winter, they're allowed to huddle round a staff canteen stove in their home in Jiulongjiang Forest Park, Rucheng County.
A pro-Russian activist aims a pistol at supporters of the Kiev government during clashes in the streets of Odessa May 2, 2014. Police said a man was shot dead in clashes between a crowd backing Kiev and pro-Russian activists in the largely Russian-speaking southern port of Odessa, which lies west of Crimea, annexed by Moscow in March. (Photo by Yevgeny Volokin/Reuters)
Members of a newly-formed “Siberian Battalion” within the Ukrainian Armed Forces take part in a military training exercise outside Kyiv on October 24, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A newly formed “Siberian Battalion” as part of the International Legion within the Ukrainian Armed Forces is made up of Russians who have come to fight against their fellow citizens. They were a varied group-both ethnic Russians with long-standing opposition views and members of minority ethnic groups. (Photo by Genya Savilov/AFP Photo)