Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2025 i National Geographic Kids

Meet Bob, the American flamingo in the middle of this photo. Nine years ago, Bob flew into a hotel window in Curaçao, an island in the Caribbean. Luckily, he was rescued by my cousin Odette Doest, a veterinarian and wild-life rehabilitator there. Because of his injuries and previous illnesses, Bob could no longer survive on his own in the wild, so Odette built this saltwater pool and a birdhouse for him at the rehabilitation center she runs. Today, other rescued flamingos come to this center to recover from their injuries alongside Bob. Because Bob has been here so long, he’s very comfortable at the center—this makes the other flamingos more relaxed, too. With Bob’s help, more flamingos can heal and return to the wild. I love that this photo shows…

Think all sharks are gigantic, toothy eating machines? Think again: With more than 500 species of sharks, you’re sure to meet a few that surprise you. For instance, some sharks have teeth so small that they can’t take a bite out of anything. Others are practically vegetarian! “You think you understand sharks, and then they do something that totally shocks you,” says Lisa Natanson, a biologist who studies sharks for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Dive in to discover seven species of sharks with mind-blowing traits. 1 Fishy Friends Lemon Sharks Can’t wait to hang out with your BFF? Neither can these sharks. Young lemon sharks often stick together for protection, helping each other watch out for larger sharks and other predators. But scientists have learned that lemon sharks won’t…

Hurtling through space billions of miles away from us on NASA’s Voyager 2 (the same spacecraft that took early images of Europa) is a gold-plated disc programmed with stuff scientists thought might be intriguing to, well, aliens! This disc, called the Golden Record, is featured in the new Disney and Pixar movie Elio. Keep reading to discover what’s on the disc in real life —plus, get a sneak peek at some of the otherworldly beings in Elio, only in theaters June 20. WHY THE GOLDEN RECORD IS SO COOL Launched in 1977 on Voyager 2, this “space playlist” for extrater-restrials includes music, whale calls, and greetings in 55 languages. The idea was that if aliens ever found it, they could hear Earth’s most beautiful sounds and know we’re a creative,…

TASSELED WOBBEGONG Sharks have been swimming in Earth’s oceans since before dinosaurs were on the planet. But today, many shark species are threatened or endangered. “The more people who support shark protection, the better,” shark scientist Lydia Koehler says. See whether you can guess if the numbered facts about these lesser known sharks are true or false—then get tips on how you can help these fantastic fish! TASSELED COQUEREL’S WOBBEGONG SIFAKA A These sharks are known for their funky beards. TRUE: Their face is outlined by fringe-like flaps of skin to camouflage them in the reef environments they live in. B Wobbegongs eat other sharks. FALSE: Other sharks aren’t typically part of their diet, but one was spotted trying to swallow a brown-banded bamboo shark that was nearly its size. C They’re very…

A wooden ship heaves onto the shore of what’s now France. Dozens of tough-looking explorers leap over the side of the boat and charge toward a nearby settlement. Armed with weapons, they plan to take over the village as their own. It’s just a regular day for a Viking. But is this really how it was? It’s true that for some 250 years—from around A.D. 800 to 1050, during the so-called Viking age—skilled sailors from Norse territory (modern-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) looted, conquered, or traded with parts of Europe, the Middle East, and North America. But what you’ve seen on television and in the movies might not be the full story. Check out the map of where Vikings explored below. Then keep reading for five Viking myths that have…

ANGEL SHARK A These animals are actually rays. FALSE: An angel shark’s flat, diamond-shaped body and eyes on the top of its head only make it look like a ray. B Angel sharks move fast. TRUE: They can pounce on prey like tuna in less than a tenth of a second. CIf they stop swimming, angel sharks won’t be able to breathe. FALSE: Angel sharks continually pump water over their gills so they can breathe even when they’re not moving. D Humans spot these sharks a lot. FALSE: It’s rare to see one in the wild, but people do observe them swimming near the shores of countries such as Wales and the Canary Islands. E SAVE THESE SHARKS: “Angel sharks spend time in shallow, sandy areas © where JURGEN FREUND humans/NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY…

FRILLED SHARK A They’re the newest sharks on the block. FALSE: They’re called “living fossils” because they’ve remained mostly unchanged in the 80 million years they’ve been living in Earth’s oceans. B Frilled sharks prefer swimming in shallow waters. FALSE: These deep-sea sharks spend most of their time in the twilight zone, or water the sun barely reaches. C SALTWATER CROCODILE Their favorite meal is seaweed. FALSE: Scientists aren’t sure how frilled sharks catch their meals, but they do know that these predators dine on squid. D They have long pregnancies. TRUE: Females can be pregnant for more than three years! E SAVE THESE SHARKS: “Like other marine animals, sharks are negatively impacted by marine pollution,” shark scientist Lydia Koehler says. “Reduce your use of plastic, and make sure it doesn’t end up in the…

BEAT THE HEAT: COOLING WIND TOWERS When the temperature rises, people turn on their air conditioners to cool off. But the electricity that powers AC units often comes from burning planet-heating fuel like coal and oil. So the more frequently people use air-conditioning, the hotter Earth becomes. That’s bad news for the people and animals that can’t escape the heat. Enter a super cool blast from the past! In the ancient Middle East, people built wind towers atop buildings. These chimneylike structures would “catch” cool breezes high up and funnel them downward into the home, lowering the indoor air temperature by as much as 20°F—no electricity required! Today, some architects are adding similar cooling towers to modern buildings, like the visitor center at Zion National Park in southwest Utah. HOW…

Right now, an uncrewed spacecraft is zooming through our solar system, traveling toward Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons. In about four and half years, the spacecraft will reach its destination: a moon that has a massive ocean underneath its thick, icy crust. The spacecraft—called Europa Clipper—will try to uncover some of the mysterious moon’s secrets. One of the biggest puzzles scientists hope to solve is if there could be life on Europa. Life doesn’t exist on any other planets or moons that we know of, but scientists are curious if the building blocks of life might be hiding in Europa’s ocean. The frozen moon is roughly the size of Earth’s moon, but its ocean could hold twice as much water as all of Earth’s oceans combined. “We’ve never sent a…

PLAY! Go on Safari These tourists are on safari in Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, a country in Africa. Help them find the correct path to their evening camp. ANSWER ON RIGHT THIS OR THAT? BY JR MORTIMER CHECK OUT THE BOOK! Which time-traveling superpower would you rather have? Pick one, then find out what your choice might say about you! CHOOSE THIS YOU CAN SEE FAR INTO THE FUTURE. IF YOU CHOSE THIS: You don’t have to be a psychic to see what’s ahead—just a scientist. Researchers studying physics, mathematics, geology, and planetary science try to answer questions about the future every day. An example: How long will Phobos—one of Mars’s moons—continue to orbit the red planet before it gets too close and explodes? Scientists are discovering the answers—no crystal…

BASKING SHARK A They’re bigger than great whites. TRUE: Great whites can grow up to 20 feet long, but basking sharks can reach up to 40 feet, or as long as a school bus. B They could swallow a human. FALSE: Their mouths can stretch three feet wide, but their throats are too small to swallow a person. (Whew.) Instead, these sharks eat small prey like plankton. C They’re always deep underwater. FALSE: Found in oceans around the world, basking sharks spend warm seasons swimming near the surface. D C They would earn a gold medal in a jumping competition. TRUE: Basking sharks sometimes breach, or leap out of the water, and land with an enormous splash—perhaps to communicate with other sharks or just for fun. E SAVE THESE SHARKS: “Basking sharks are sometimes spotted…

PELAGIC THRESHER A Threshers have the longest shark tail relative to body length. TRUE: Their tail fin can stretch about half the length of their 10-foot-long body. B Their tail is their secret weapon. TRUE: Threshers round up small fish like anchovies into a tight group before using their tails to whip the water to stun their prey—then they gobble’em up. C Threshers come in just one color. FALSE: These sharks have brown, gray, or black bodies that are hard to spot in the dark, temperate waters they live in when viewed from above. D These sharks are always snacking. FALSE: They might slurp down seven sardines in a single meal—but they only need to eat about once every 10 days. E SAVE THESE SHARKS: “Double check the fish you order at a restaurant,” shark…