Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 240 i National Geographic Kids (UK)

Hi Kids! Welcome to another brr-illiant issue of Nat Geo Kids! This month's cover star is a Baikal seal, the world's only pinniped species that lives exclusively in fresh water. So summon your inner seal and flipper over to page 10 to find out what life would be like if YOU were one of these fintastic Siberian swimmers! Do your folks ever get on your nerves? Well, turn to page 20 to see how they compare with some wild animal parents – including several that eat their own offspring. Yikes! Plus, this issue, we marvel at some mysterious, ancient stone sculptures in Colombia, South America. Hope you love all the fab facts, puzzles and quizzes in this month's mag. Enjoy the issue! Editor Tim and the Nat Geo Kids team…

In France, the fooled person is called poisson d’avril (‘April fish’). French children pin a paper fish to the backs of unsuspecting friends. Keep your wits about you on 1 April, as this mischief-filled day is a time for pranking! For hundreds of years, people around the world have played cheeky tricks on their friends and family in the name of a good giggle – although no one knows for sure why this twisted tradition started. Newspapers, TV shows and brands get in on the action, too – so don’t believe everything you read. Even your trusty NG KiDS magazine could be playing a joke on you – can you spot the trick on this page? (Answer below.) One of the most famous April Fool’s pranks was in 1957 when…

REMEMBER! The clocks spring forward one hour at 1am on 30 March, as British Summer Time begins! MAR 6 World Book Day Turn to page 49 to find your free book token! MAR 7 - MAR 16 British Science Week Head to their website to get involved! MAR 21 Red Nose Day Do something funny to raise money for Comic Relief! MAR 30 Mother's Day Turn to page 46 for a great gift idea and a fun quiz! Read about some amazing animal mums on page 20! APR 1 Take a Vegetable to School Day Show off and celebrate your fave veg! APRIL FOOL! Take a Vegetable to School Day isn’t a real day in the calendar.…

Most seals live along coastlines and in cold oceans around the world. But not Baikal (say “bye-kaal”) seals! These unique creatures are the only species of seal to live exclusively in fresh water. They spend their days splashing around in the world’s deepest lake – Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia. So how does a seal thrive in fresh water? Dive in to find out what it’s like to be a Baikal seal, and discover five tips for living your best lake life – seal style, of course. WHERE BAIKAL SEALS LIVE 1 KEEP YOUR CLAWS SHARP. During winter, Lake Baikal’s massive surface (the lake is about 1.5 times the size of Wales!) freezes over. But as a seal, you still need to be able to get in and out of the…

DON’T MISS THE BOOK! Between 1912 and 1918, people in the USA could take their money to Washington, D.C., to be washed and ironed. A professional ice-cream tester insured his taste buds for over £500,000. Men get the hiccups more often than women. The world’s largest treehouse, in Northumberland, England, cost £3.2 million to build. Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. Scientists believe that Saturn’s rings will eventually disappear. Some fish can change from female to male.…

PSEUDOSCORPION Incredibly, this strange, wingless bug uses its little claws to grab onto grasshoppers, beetles and other flying insects so it can hitch a ride up to the nest! WOODLOUSE You might recognise this one – it’s a woodlouse! They usually live on the ground, so it was really interesting to find one 20m up in the forest canopy. PORTIA SPIDER This little jumping spider eats other spiders! It waits at the edge of its prey’s web and makes vibrations like a trapped insect or mate to tempt the spider out – then it pounces! MYSTERY BEETLE I haven’t identified this big round beetle yet -but I’ve got the photo! I’m going to ask some other entomologists to help me figure out if it’s a new species.…

What you'll need ● Small, clean, recycled glass bottle ● Paintbrush ● PVA glue ● Paper plate ● Yarn – a few di? erent colours ● Flowers Start here! 1 Mark out your first stripe by brushing some glue onto the neck of the bottle. 2 Pick a colour of yarn and start winding it around the bottle from the top down. The easiest way is to spin the bottle around while guiding the thread into place with your fingers. 3 When the thread has almost covered the first stripe of glue, trim it and stick the end to the bottle. Then brush on another stripe of glue below the yarn. 4 Choose the next colour of thread. Line up the ends of the new and old yarn neatly, then…

African elephant RANGE Central and southern Africa SLIP-UP SPOT San Diego Zoo, California, USA PHOTO FAIL Baby elephants can walk an hour after they’re born – but that doesn’t mean they master the skill straight away. Oops! King penguin RANGE Islands surrounding Antarctica SLIP-UP SPOT The island of South Georgia, in the South Atlantic Ocean PHOTO FAIL These birds sometimes travel by tobogganing, or sliding on their bellies. Looks like this penguin is testing out a new way to get around. Way-hay! Red deer RANGE Europe and West Asia SLIP-UP SPOT Haute Vallée de Chevreuse Regional Natural Park, France PHOTO FAIL In late summer, deer rub their antlers on trees to remove the bones’ soft outer layer, called velvet. But it looks like the tree rubbed off on this deer’s…

First up, let’s meet some of the animal kingdom’s most selfless and caring parents – and they might not be the ones you’d expect… Self-sacrificing spiders! Most mums would do anything for their kids, but some spider species are on another level! Take the black lace weaver spider, found in the UK, the rest of Europe and North America. To ensure her precious spiderlings get enough nutrients, this spider mum lets them eat her alive. Arrgh! First, she lays some unfertilised eggs for them to scoff. And when the eggs have been gobbled, she encourages her babies to devour her. Snack attack! Egg-cellent octo-mums! Octopus mums only reproduce once in their lifetime, so they make it count! When a female lays her clutch of eggs – and some lay tens…

FRUITY FOOD Maned wolves don’t hunt large prey. Instead, they eat small animals, plants and fruits. Their favourite fruit, lobeira, is also known as ‘wolf’s fruit’ because they eat so much of it! BACK OFF! When threatened, these canines raise their mane – long hairs on their neck and back – to make themselves look larger. FOX ON STILTS Yep, that’s the maned wolf’s nickname, although it’s not actually a fox OR a wolf! Instead, it’s a unique type of canid. These long, stilt-like legs help it peek over tall savannah grass and reach fruit in trees. STINKY SPOTS These solitary animals mark high ground on the edge of their territory – such as small hills and termite mounds – with their smelly urine and poo. This keeps other maned…

SUPER FACTS OR SILLY FIBS? (page 19) 1-TRUE; 2-TRUE; 3-FALSE; 4-TRUE; 5-TRUE. POKÉMON (page 36–37) EPIC EVOLUTIONS CROSSWORD (page 40) CRACK THE CODE (page 41) 1-BRIGHT COLOURS WARN AWAY PREDATORS. 2-AN OCTOPUS HAS THREE HEARTS. 3-MALE PENGUINS KEEP EGGS WARM. 4-NO TWO TIGERS’ STRIPES ARE ALIKE. WHAT IN THE WORLD? (page 42) Top row: PAINT SET, SOCKS, LOLLIPOP. Middle row: PARROT, CAKE, CRAYONS. Bottom row: SPRINKLES, UMBRELLA, SLINKY. Bonus: A WALKIE TALKIE! SPOT THE DIFFERENCE (page 43) BRAIN BOOSTERS! (page 44–45) MEGA SUDOKU WORD MATCH 1-F; 2-G; 3-A; 4-C; 5-H; 6-B; 7-E; 8-D. MIGHTY MATHS A-49; B-7; C-88; D-28; E-138; F-75; G-29; H-78. SEARCH & FIND FORECAST FIT OUT OF THIS WORLD NEPTUNE SQUARE SUMS DIVE IN! 1-WHALE; 2-DOLPHIN; 3-SHARK; 4-SEA STAR; 5-SWORDFISH; 6-SEAHORSE. FOOTY FUN 5 and 9 are…