Innholdsfortegnelse for June/July 2022 i National Geographic Kids

In the back seat of an SUV, a cheetah cub bares his teeth and hisses. Around his neck is a rope, which not too long ago had been used to tie him to the base of a tree. The ridge of fur down the cheetah’s spine is standing straight up, and the animal’s breathing is fast and shallow. His eyes dart in every direction, taking in his surroundings. The people peering into the vehicle mean only one thing to the alarmed cheetah: danger. Stolen from his mother to be someone’s pet, the wild cat probably hasn’t had many good interactions with humans. What the cheetah, called Astur, doesn’t know is that the faces outside are friendly—these people have come to rescue him. Tracking Astur The people are part of a…

A This colorful fish lives in coral reefs in the Red Sea. TRUE: It also lives in reefs throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans. B Its favorite depth is deep-end-of-the-swimming-pool deep. FALSE: More like eight swimming pools deep—at almost a hundred feet. C A female coral hind can become a male. TRUE: In a large area, there is one male for up to a dozen females. If the male disappears, one of the larger females turns into a male and takes his place. D It’s no longer than your foot. FALSE: A coral hind can be 18 inches long—as long as both feet of a 10-year-old kid. E It lets octopuses and eels prepare dinner. TRUE: This fish often follows these other predators and snatches prey they flush out of…

A This bird is a South American natural wonder. TRUE: The Guianan cock-of-the-rock lives in rocky areas of rainforests in the north and northeastern parts of South America. B The cock-of-the-rock has a soothing call. FALSE: Some people say its call sounds like someone strangling a rubber chicken. C It won’t king you in a game of checkers, but it might try to eat the pieces. TRUE: One study indicates that this fruit-eater prefers red or black food. D Males and females look alike. FALSE: Females are a drab olive gray or brown; males are bright orange. E A male is about five cheese puffs long. TRUE: From head to tail, it’s about 12 inches long.…

Why do camels have humps? A camel’s hump is filled with up to 80 pounds of fat, which the camel uses for energy when it can’t eat or drink. That means these animals are able to survive for several months without food and can walk up to a hundred miles in the desert without water. (It helps that they rarely sweat, even in temperatures over 120°F). As the camel uses the fat, the hump gets smaller. But once it takes a break to eat and drink again — a camel can slurp 30 gallons of water in 13 minutes — the hump grows bigger with the new fat inside. CHECK OUT THE BOOK!…

Sydney, Australia, enjoys more than 340 sunny days each year. Earth’s axis tilts at 23.5°. As the planet spins, its angle to the sun changes—and so do our seasons! The first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere is JUNE 20 OR 21. The first day of summer in the Southern Hemisphere is DECEMBER 21 OR 22. About 80 % of Americans say they know how to swim. Sunscreen with an SPF of 30 blocks 97% of the sun’s rays. The sun is more than 94 MILLION miles from Earth during the summer solstice—the first day of summer. The longest beach in the world—Praia do Cassino in Brazil—is ABOU T 150 MILES LONG. CHECK OUT THE BOOK!…

And They’re Off! In a race between different species of land animals, cheetahs would totally win. But these critters wouldn’t be far behind! Check out their top speeds. CHECK OUT CHEETAH VIDEOS TO SEE THESE WILD CATS IN ACTION! natgeokids.com/june-july…

A four-inch-long critter floats upright, nearly motionless in a patch of seagrass. Its curvy tail, long snout, and horse-shaped head make the seahorse seem like some pint-size mix of a monkey, a giraffe, and a pony. But this creature is a fish! Just like goldfish and sharks, these water-dwelling animals have fins and gills. But this family of fish—which includes sea dragons and pipefish—is anything but ordinary. Dive in to discover six reasons why these creatures might be the funkiest fish in the sea. 1 They Drop Anchor Fish usually swim freely throughout the ocean, but seahorses prefer to be anchored. Their tails are prehensile, meaning they can use them to grip and hang on to pieces of coral, seagrass, and mangrove roots. It’s sort of like how monkeys use…

A Standing on tiptoe, a male red kangaroo is as tall as a professional basketball player. TRUE: On its toes, it can be six feet six inches tall. Standing flat-footed, it’s five feet two inches. B It hops as fast as a car. TRUE: In short bursts, a kangaroo can reach speeds of up to 40 miles an hour. Average hopping speed is 12 miles an hour. C Kangaroo kickboxing happens only in cartoons. FALSE: Males fight each other using their front paws to box and their hind legs to kick. D It might be fun to be in the middle of a mob. TRUE: A group of ’roos is called a mob. E A red kangaroo can leap over a 10-year-old kid. TRUE: It can jump over something as…

A Don’t expect to see the birth of a baby Nilgiri tahr. TRUE: The protective mother gives birth on hard-to-reach cliffs. B Their lifestyle of climbing high cliffs keeps these animals safe from people. FALSE: The endangered population has fallen to about 3,000 animals, mostly because of habitat loss and hunting. C An adult Nilgiri tahr weighs less than a 10-year-old kid. FALSE: It’d take three 10-year-olds to weigh as much as an adult male. A female weighs half as much as a male. D Tahrs watch out for cats and dogs. TRUE: Predators include leopards and Asiatic wild dogs. E Nilgiri means “blue mountain.” TRUE: These sure-footed climbers live in India’s Ghat mountains, including an area called Nilgiri—the blue mountains.…

BIG SHOE STEPS UP You’d definitely need a giant closet if you owned this sneaker. The largest sports shoe stands five feet six inches tall, stretches just over 13 feet long, and weighs 331 pounds. (That’s about as heavy as 33 bowling balls.) Made from enough fake leather to cover almost an entire NBA basketball court, the shoe took three months to build and helped raise funds for cancer research. Looks like the shoe’s creators took some huge steps for a good cause. DOGS PERFORM TRICKS Border collies Halo (below left) and Wish aren’t just one-trick dogs. These pups completed 28 tricks in 60 seconds, earning the title for the most tricks performed by two dogs in one minute. Their showstoppers include spinning around in circles, jumping on and off…

Comeback Critter: American Crocodile Homestead, Florida This might be the best egg hunt ever. Scientists were excited to find a record number of American crocodile hatchlings at the Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station last year: 568! That’s good news, because about a quarter of all crocs in the United States call this spot home. In the 1970s, habitat loss and hunting caused the American crocodile population to dwindle to fewer than 300 animals. But in 1978, workers at the power plant found a nest along the human-made cooling canals, which happen to be perfect croc nurseries. So conservationists decided to start studying and tracking these animals. By capturing and releasing the hatchlings in safer areas, they help protect them from predators like birds, crabs, turtles, and even other crocodiles. Over the…

Abizarre world lies under the sparkling Atlantic Ocean off the islands of the Bahamas, a world few have seen. Here, a system of super-deep underwater caves called blue holes contain odd-looking creatures, six-story-high rock formations, and even ancient human remains. Scuba-diving scientists must dodge whirlpools and squeeze through narrow tunnels to study blue holes—but their risky expeditions uncover amazing secrets. WEIRD WATER Dive about 30 feet into some blue holes, and the water turns pink. It looks nice—but it’s poisonous. Because of a weak current here, rainwater and salt water mix in a way that traps a layer of toxic gas where pink bacteria thrive. To avoid getting ill, divers don’t linger here. In other blue holes, ocean tides can whip up whirlpools that look like giant bathtub drains. Scientists…

WILD RIDE THE SCIENTIST Ayushi Jain COOL JOB Conservationist and Nat Geo Photo Ark EDGE Fellow THE LOCATION Chandragiri River, India “Local people call me when they find a Cantor’s giant softshell turtle in trouble. One time when I arrived, they’d placed the animal in a large water tank. I gently tipped the tank over so I could examine the turtle. But it immediately ran toward the river. (Unlike other turtles, softshell turtles—which can grow three feet wide and weigh 220 pounds—can move fast.) “I grabbed it, but the strong turtle just dragged me along behind it. Acting quickly, my colleague ran ahead and threw a piece of cloth over its head. Suddenly, the turtle stopped—and everyone burst out laughing. “We examined the turtle, then released it into the river.…

What do YOU think this harbor seal is thinking? 1. Fill in the thought balloon. 2. Cut out the entire picture (or make a photocopy of it). 3. Mail it along with your name, address, phone number, and date of birth to Nat Geo Kids, Back Talk, P.O. Box 96000, Washington, DC 20090-6000. Selection for publication in a future issue will be at the discretion of Nat Geo Kids. FROM THE JUNE / JULY 2021 ISSUE Does my breath smell? Clive O., 11 Long Valley, New Jersey It’s “snot” funny. Quincy C., 5 Boca Raton, Florida Is this too close? Camdyn C., 6 Overland Park, Kansas Look who’s got YOUR nose now! Catherine W., 12 Falls Church, Virginia Wait, this isn’t food! Naylyan O., 12 Lebanon, Pennsylvania I love to…