“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)

“Horst Ludwig Wessel (October 9, 1907 – February 23, 1930) was a German Nazi activist who was made a posthumous hero of the Nazi movement following his violent death in 1930. He was the author of the lyrics to the song “Die Fahne hoch” (“The Flag On High”), usually known as Horst-Wessel-Lied (“The Horst Wessel Song”), which became the Nazi Party anthem and, de facto, Germany's co-national anthem from 1933 to 1945”. – Wikipedia

Photo: German Nazi activist Horst Wessel (left) at the head of a parade of S.A. stormtroopers, or “brownshirts”, in Nuremberg, Germany, 1929. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A worker paints the face of a realistic pet plushie, at the Pampanga Teddy Bear Factory, in Angeles City, Pampanga province, Philippines on March 10, 2023. (Photo by Lisa Marie David/Reuters)

A guest proposes to his companion as they arrive for the screening of “Mektoub, My Love: Intermezzo” during the 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival, in Cannes, France, 23 May 2019. The movie is presented in the Official Competition of the festival which runs from 14 to 25 May. (Photo by Julien Warnand/EPA/EFE)

In this photo taken on Thursday, August 22, 2019, and distributed by Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service, the Russian Progress 73 cargo ship blasts off from the launch pad at Russia's space facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The new Russian rocket, that is expected to replace the current model sending manned missions into space, blasted off from Kazakhstan on Thursday, carrying a Soyuz capsule with a humanoid robot. (Photo by Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service via AP Photo)

Brooks Nader and her sisters, Mary Holland, Grace Ann, and Sarah Jane announce Season 2 of “Love Thy Nader” with a photoshoot in Los Angeles on November 24, 2025. (Photo by Backgrid USA)

A child performs in the mutton bustin (sheep riding) at the rodeo performance of the 76th annual Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, on May 18, 2024. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

An animal sprints across a road as the Sugar Fire, part of the Beckwourth Complex Fire, burns in Plumas National Forest, Calif., on Thursday, July 8, 2021. (Photo by Noah Berger/AP Photo)