A general view showing the shipwrecked cruise ship Costa Concordia in an upright position after the salvage operations in Giglio island, Italy, 17 September 2013. Salvage crews pulled off a major engineering feat when they straightened the listed Costa Concordia cruise ship from the rocks it had been wedged against for the past 20 months. The delicate operation took 19 hours and was completed at 4 am (0200 GMT). The vessel ran aground near the island of Giglio, in Tuscany, in an accident that made world-wide news. (Photo by Angelo Carconi/EPA)

“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)

In this undated photo made available by journal Nature on January 15, 2014, a northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremita) flies in Tuscany, Italy. A new study released Wednesday, January 15, 2014 says the birds choreograph the flapping of their wings, getting a boost from an updraft of air in the wake of the flapping wings by flying behind the first bird and off to the side. When a flock of birds take advantage of these aerodynamics, they form a V. (Photo by Markus Unsöld/AP Photo)

“Lobsang and 66 fellow monks were imprisoned in 1959. When released 21 years later, he was one of only three survivors. While in prison his best friend, a rinpoche, died in his arms. Tensin was later discovered to be the reincarnation of that friend. Lobsang said there are so many characteristics of his old friend in the young boy”. (Photo and caption by Phil Borges)

“Red Pepperpion. Red Pepperpions are secretive, nocturnal arachilli which can be spotted in kitchens of arid climates all around the world.

Red Pepperpions are equipped with a delicious (and depending on the quantity...deadly!) stinger at the end of its tail. If you happen to get bitten (or if you bite him!) it will produce a burning sensation on your taste nerves.

However, there is no need to worry, since the fact is that his potent stinger is usually only used when hunting or whenever the Pepperpion feels like he might become part of someones meal...

At daylight or when encountering a larger foe, such as a Saucier Chef, they retreat into burrows inside the fridge or hide beneath the oven”. (Photo and comment by Vanessa Dualib)

Two women dressed for a party take photos of each other outside a venue in London, Friday, December 17, 2021. On what would normally be one of the busiest times for pubs and restaurants just before Christmas, customer numbers are down in central London due to concerns about the new omicron variant. Friday night in Central London was muted with one bar saying they have 30 customers inside when there should have been 170, with large amounts of cancellations in recent days. (Photo by Alastair Grant/AP Photo)

An Asian elephant called “Plai Deaw” goes for a walk on a mountain road in Nakhon Nayok, Thailand on July 11, 2022. The bull has become well known in the area for his taste for venturing out from the deep forest and emerging among cars and village homes. Thailand has an estimated 2,000 Asian elephants living in the wild but there is often conflict when they come into contact with humans on roads and in villages. A similar number of elephants are kept captive where they work in zoos and are hired out for religious festivals and weddings. (Photo by Mongkol Pitakmoo/ViralPress)

Alejandro Zelayaran, 43, dressed as Santa Claus, wears a protective face shield as he poses for a photograph on a street in Mexico City, Mexico, December 3, 2020. “Faith and hope must move the heart of the humanity”, said Zelayaran, who will don a face shield when he distributes dolls and other gifts at an orphanage in Mexico City. “I want to see families taking care of each other and knowing that even from afar, love and hope always survive”. (Photo by Edgard Garrido/Reuters)