Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2025 i National Geographic Kids

My fellow explorers and I were in a cave in central China—we’d been walking for three hours, heading deeper and deeper inside. Finally, we passed the farthest point of exploration. From now on, everything we saw would be new to human eyes. Because it had taken so long to reach this point, we decided to spend the night in the cave and continue our trek in the morning. The team moved rocks to make space for sleeping bags, hung up ham-mocks, lit candles, and ate freeze-dried meals. That’s when I noticed a slot high on the cave wall. I thought it would be a great place to capture a photo of the camp. Balancing my camera and tripod on my shoulder, I climbed up to the ledge, and then: Snap!…

Emperor penguins are loud! That was the first thing I noticed when National Geographic sent me to live alongside a penguin colony in Antarctica. I had to get used to a lot of squawking, whistling, and honking, especially when I was trying to sleep in my tent near the colony. At first, penguins appear clumsy and, well, not so bright. But I learned that to assume they aren’t tough or smart is a mistake. These birds—not just emperors but many of the 18 species of penguins—thrive in some of Earth’s harshest environments. They can dive over a thousand feet deep, survive in below-freezing temperatures, and withstand 100-mile-an-hour winds. They also form some of the strongest relationships in the animal kingdom. Penguins are among the most studied animals on the planet,…

MEET SIX OF HISTORY’S MOST FEARSOME HIGH-SEAS BADDIES. BY SARA LORIMER AND JAMIE KIFFEL-ALCHEH PIRATE PORTRAITS BY MARÍ LOBOS Yo-ho, yo-ho—uh-oh! A mysterious ship on the horizon flying a skull-and-crossbones flag wasn’t a welcome sight to sailors in the 18th and 19th centuries. That flag meant one thing: pirates. Faced with faster, cannon-crammed vessels typically crewed by pirates, a ship captain was left with two choices: Lower their sails and surrender—or turn and fight. It wasn’t always one big swashbuckling adventure for the pirates, however. Lousy food, cramped quarters, stinky crewmates, and hurricanes were all part of the job. Still, a handful of pirates managed to enjoy life at sea… and inspire fear in those who were unfortunate enough to meet them face-to-face. Check out some of history’s most famous…

A sun bear cub huddles alone in a metal cage. A few days ago, poachers snatched the three-month-old from the wild and brought her to a town in Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia. The people who bought the cub from the poachers probably aren’t trying to hurt her. But the orphan isn’t getting the right food or exercise that she needs, and without her mother, the cub is stressed. If the young sun bear stays here, she might spend the rest of her life in a cage. BEAR AID Local authorities with the Sabah Wildlife Department learn that people are keeping this sun bear cub as a pet—which is illegal. Rescuers act fast, scooping up the terrified baby and placing her in a crate for the three-hour drive to…

ANSWERS BELOW Some penguins build nests. Which of these items do Adélie penguins often use to line their nests? A. small rocks B. crab shells C. leopard seal fur D. seagull feathers To keep cool, Humboldt penguins do which of the following? A. pant B. find shade C. take a swim D. all of the above No people live in Antarctica permanently, but as many as 5,000 scientists work there in the summer. About how many emperor penguins live in Antarctica? A. 600 B. 600,000 C. 600,000,000 D. 1 lonely penguin Which of these predators do gentoo penguins have to look out for? A. polar bears B. orcas C. tigers D. eagles Which penguin species lives farther north than any other species? A. erect-crested B. gentoo C. Galápagos D. rockhopper…

Enough about the villains. Check out these books to discover some of history’s greatest heroes and heroines. 1 MYTH: Pirates said “arr” and “matey” all the time. BUSTED! You can blame movies for this myth. An English actor who appeared in 1950s pirate films played up his accent and also overdid it a bit on the made-up pirate slang. His take on “pirate speak” stuck. But no evidence proves that real pirates said “arr” or “matey” very much. 2 MYTH: Pirates made treasure maps showing where they buried their loot. BUSTED! No pirate treasure maps have ever been found. And since each crew member expected to get paid after an expedition, they usually split up their loot instead of burying it. Old Hollywood movies such as Treasure Island have been…

THE PROBLEM Fish migrating through Utrecht, Netherlands, encounter an obstacle every spring: a closed gate located at the entrance to a canal. This gate—which normally only opens for passing boats—prevents the fish from reaching their breeding grounds. And while they wait, the fish are often eaten by birds. THE SOLUTION Ding-dong! Clever conservationists installed a live streaming camera underwater next to the gate and set up a website so people around the world can monitor it. When a fish swims by, online watchers can ring a “doorbell” from their computers. Then scientists review the footage before telling the gate-keeper to open the barrier. Since the system was launched in 2021, more than 20,000 fish have passed through the spot! GET TIPS TO HELP PROTECT MORE ANIMALS! natgeokids.com/savetheearth…

Clark Kent and Peter Parker—the alter egos of Superman and Spider-Man—don’t really stand out. And neither do pangolins in the tropical forests or grasslands of Africa and Asia where they live. But like your favorite movie Super Heroes, these animals have a few hidden powers. Check them out here. SPIDER-MAN STICKINESS! Spider-Man shoots out sticky strands of webbing from his wrists to swing from one skyscraper to another. When a pangolin is hungry, it shoots out its sticky tongue(which extends up to 16 inches past its mouth). Coated in gluey saliva, the licker scoops up ants and termites, the pangolin’s favorite snacks. In all, the mammal can eat some 70 million insects a year. Makes sense that this superhero-like creature would have a super appetite. WOLVERINE CLAWS! During fights with…

FROM THE PAGES OF DIAMONDS OR DUDS? FAKE People used to believe that diamonds were made by bolts of lightning! That sounds really cool—but it’s not true: Diamonds actually develop deep in the ground under great pressure. The gems are the crystalline form of carbon. A cubic zirconia—sometimes called a CZ—is another form of crystalline material that happens to look like a diamond. But it’s worth a lot less. The easiest way to tell a diamond from a CZ imposter is with something called the fog test. Here’s how it works: Breathe a puff of air on the diamond in question. If the fog disappears right away, congrats! It’s probably a diamond. But if it takes longer to go away, you might have a CZ on your hands. Fog doesn’t…

ART ZONE Help us celebrate our 50th anniversary! Draw your own Nat Geo Kids magazine cover—you choose the stories, the animals, and the design. Send us your original drawings: Nat Geo Kids—Cover Art Zone P.O. Box 98002 Washington, DC 20090-8002 Include your name, address, phone number, date of birth, a title for your drawing, a statement that it is your own work, and the name of your parent or guardian. Your parent or guardian must sign a release for publication if your illustration is selected. Submissions become the property of National Geographic Partners, and all rights thereto are transferred to National Geographic Partners. Submissions cannot be acknowledged or returned. Selection will be at the discretion of Nat Geo Kids.…