“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)

Cosplay fans (R) take selfies as comic book and gaming fans attend the annual Ani-Com and Games Fair in Hong Kong on July 28, 2017. Tens of thousands were expected to attend the annual event on animation, comics and games, from July 28 to August 1. (Photo by Isaac Lawrence/AFP Photo)

A hand out picture released by Queensland police on November 7, 2016 shows a police officer taking care of a baby koala in Brisbane Australian police made one of their more unusual finds when they uncovered a baby koala hidden in the bag of a woman they stopped in the street. (Photo by AFP Photo/Queensland Police)

Malabon Zoo owner Manny Tangco holds a full-grown but very small rooster named “Small But Terrible” from Malaysia to compare it with the giant red rooster from France named “Mr. Universe” as they are shown to the media as part of the “Roosters of the World” exhibition to celebrate the “Red Fire Rooster” in the Chinese lunar calendar Friday, January 27, 2017 in suburban Malabon city north of Manila, Philippines. The Roosters of the World exhibition features roosters from countries as the United States, Japan, United Kingdom, France, China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Poland. (Photo by Bullit Marquez/AP Photo)

A woman wearing a wedding dress takes part in the so-called “brides' match” at the FIFA Fan Fest in Kazan, a host city for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Russia June 30, 2018. (Photo by Alexey Nasyrov/Reuters)

A visitor and an employee dressed as Snegurochka (Snow Maiden), the granddaughter of Ded Moroz (Russian equivalent of Santa Claus), pose for a picture inside an upside down house, constructed as an attraction for local residents and tourists and located at the Royev Ruchey Park of Flora and Fauna in the suburbs of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, December 7, 2016. (Photo by Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

Contestant Nathalie De Oliveira of Brazil prepares backstage before the final show of the Miss International Queen 2016 transgender/transsexual beauty pageant in Pattaya, Thailand, March 10, 2017. Thai contestant Jiratchaya Sirimongkolnawin was crowned Miss International Queen 2016. The 2016 show was postponed from November last year due to Thailand's mourning period of its late King Bhumibol Adulyadej who died at age 88 on October 13, 2016. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

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)