A Kazakh hunter walks with his tamed golden eagle during an annual hunting competition in Chengelsy Gorge, some 150 km (93 miles) east of Almaty February 22, 2013. (Photo by Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters)

“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)

An injured cat receives treatment at a veterinary clinic by volunteer vets after a forest fire that broke out in Manavgat district of Turkeyâs Antalya on July 31, 2021. At least seven people have died in the wildfires raging in Turkey’s Mediterranean towns, the Turkish health ministry confirmed on 01 August 2021. (Photo by Mustafa Ciftci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A woman runs through the early morning mist on Hampstead Heath on September 30, 2011 in London, England. Much of the UK is enjoying a spell of unseasonably hot weather which is expected to last into next week. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Water vapour cascades down the Gold Buddha Mountain after a rainfall, drawing large crowds of visitors, on May 13, 2024 in Chongqing, China. (Photo by Qu Mingbin/VCG via Getty Images)

A string is used to ensure that the skirts of female members of the honour guard are in the same height from the ground as they prepare for a welcoming ceremony for Congo Republic President Denis Sassou Nguesso outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, July 5, 2016. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)

Men play with an oiled coconut during Myanmar's 73rd Independence Day celebrations amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Yangon, Myanmar, January 4, 2021. (Photo by Shwe Paw Mya Tin/Reuters)

Valarie Allman, of the United States, celebrates after winning the gold medal in the women's discus throw final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Monday, August 2, 2021, in Tokyo. (Photo by David J. Phillip/AP Photo)