Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2019 i National Geographic Magazine - UK

The cold regions of the globe can torment as much as they can transfix, as some renowned explorers have made clear. “The land looks like a fairy tale,” observed Roald Amundsen on his way to beating Robert Falcon Scott to the South Pole in 1911. Understandably, Scott saw it differently. “Great God! This is an awful place,” he raged into his diary after realizing that Amundsen had bested him. Jean-Baptiste Charcot had a love-hate relationship with Antarctica, which he explored in the early 1900s. “Why then do we feel this strange attraction for these polar regions, a feeling so powerful and lasting that when we return home we forget the mental and physical hardships and want nothing more than to return to them?” the French oceanographer mused. “Why are we…

‘DUCK DOWN’ IS JOE UZIEL’S CONSTANT REFRAIN. I’m struggling to keep up with the Israeli archaeologist as he slips his thin frame easily through the twisting and narrow tunnel studded with protruding rock. With only the light of our smartphones to guide us, I bend low to prevent my battered yellow hard hat from scraping the stone overhead. Then he stops abruptly. “I’m going to show you something cool.” The cramped passage lies beneath a rocky spur of land jutting south from Jerusalem’s Old City. The narrow ridge, the site of early Jerusalem and today packed with houses occupied mostly by Palestinian residents, conceals a subterranean labyrinth of natural caves, Canaanite water channels, Judaean tunnels, and Roman quarries. This particular passage is of more recent vintage than most, having been…

NAT GEO BOOKS The ultimate guide for planning Epic Journeys Whether your idea of a dream trip is rafting the rapids of Africa’s Zambezi River or taking in the pristine beauty of Canada’s Moraine Lake (above), this photo-filled compendium is for you. It’s brimming with details on the best destinations for outdoor adventures, cultural excursions, wildlife-watching, and much more. Epic Journeys: 245 Life-Changing Adventures is available wherever books are sold and at shopng.com/books. BOOKS Go exploring with our Atlas of the National Parks The first book of its kind, this inspiring and informative atlas showcases the 61 beloved parks of the U.S. National Park System. Packed with maps, graphics, and photographs, it’s available where books are sold and at shopng.com/books. TELEVISION A hog-wild new season for Dr. Pol From a…

She puts a new spin on ‘waste not, want not’ by treating trash as a valuable resource. Banana peels and plastic straws are little more than garbage in most of the world. To environmental educator Lillygol Sedaghat, they’re precious commodities. For the past two years, the 27-year-old National Geographic explorer has traveled the globe to advocate for the untapped potential of trash. The linear economy, where resources are turned into disposable products, “is no longer sustainable,” Sedaghat says. She aims to promote a circular economy, in which “you maximize your resources and minimize your waste.” Since 2017 Sedaghat has researched one of the world’s most efficient waste management systems: Taiwan recycles nearly half its municipal waste and has reduced the amount sent to landfills to less than one percent—turning plastic…

THE WORD OF THE DAY: ORCHIS. It’s a genus of the orchid plant. It’s the Greek word for testicle (which some orchid tubers ostensibly resemble). And in Greek mythology Orchis was a brute whose punishment for assaulting a priestess was to be torn into pieces-from which sprouted a plant with testicle-like tubers. Since ancient times, orchids have been ˝associated with sexuality,˝ says the Journal of Cultural Heritage. In some societies people till consume the plant, hoping that their own anatomy will benefit. Orchid tubers are eaten as impotence fighters in Israel; bulbs, as aphrodisiacs in Turkey. Even the flowers are consumed in Italy, where species include the anatomically explicit Orchis italica (pictured here)— aka the naked man orchid.…

THEY’RE HUMBLE plastic-and-rubber dive fins, aged by hundreds of hours of exposure to salt water and sun—but they’ve been on great adventures. That’s because their owner is the barrier-breaking, record-setting oceanographer Sylvia Earle. As a student of marine science in the 1950s, Earle adopted scuba equipment early on. She was the first woman to enter a lockout chamber of an underwater submersible (and was four months pregnant at the time); she led the first all-woman aquanaut team to live underwater for two weeks. In 1979 she descended 1,250 feet in a pressurized suit to walk on the ocean floor off Oahu, setting a record for the deepest dive made without a tether. On land Earle, a National Geographic explorer-in-residence, was the first woman to be chief scientist of the U.S.…

JERUSALEM’S ERAS OF BUILDING SACRED MOSAIC The embattled Old City of Jerusalem has grown over the centuries into an architectural patchwork reflecting the styles, beliefs, and priorities of conquerors past. The rulers who rebuilt or repurposed these structures are long gone, but evidence of their ambitions remains—both above and deep below the bustling metropolis. ALBERTO LUCAS LÓPEZ, MATTHEW W. CHWASTYK, AND KAYA BERNE, NGM STAFF; PATRICIA HEALY; GURA BERGER. 3D ART: ARIEL ROLDÁN SOURCES: RIWAQ ARCHIVE, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES (BUILDING PERIODS); JOE UZIEL, IAA; WENDY PULLAN, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND; JODI MAGNESS, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL; JERUSALEM INSTITUTE FOR POLICY RESEARCH; JERUSALEM STATISTICAL YEARBOOK; HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM GIS LAB; OPENSTREETMAP CONTRIBUTORS, AVAILABLE UNDER OPEN DATABASE LICENSE JERUSALEM’S PEOPLE… The width of the bar shows the peak of…

WHO Galimberti is a documentary photographer based in Italy. WHERE In Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy, five-year-old Alessia brings feed for the Chianina cattle that her family raises. WHAT The image is part of Galimberti’s photo project Toy Stories, published as a book in 2014. On a visit to take pictures of a friend’s daughter, Gabriele Galimberti found young Alessia playing with toy tools. He asked her to pose with them—and so began a 30-month project that took the National Geographic photographer to 58 countries to make portraits of children with their cherished playthings. The photos show that “despite their diverse backgrounds,” children have a similar love for special toys, Galimberti says. Children were proud to show him their toys, whether they had many or just a few. This page showcases images…

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC helps people understand our world. Guided by that purpose, we tell stories across all content platforms where people seek them. We’re building on the work of the 131-year-old National Geographic Society, which gives innovative grants to amazingly talented individuals worldwide. We’re embracing opportunities to increase our impact like never before, thanks to our new partnership with The Walt Disney Company. Through our involvement in platforms like the new Disney+ streaming service, and taking advantage of Disney’s unrivaled success in touching millions through parks, experiences, books, and other products, we will expand our reach across the globe. We’re incredibly excited about all the possibilities that lie ahead for this new partnership. This year we took our storytelling to new heights with award-winning journalism. We highlighted important concerns—the scourge of…

THE DISCOVERIES OF TODAY THAT WILL DEFINE THE WORLD OF TOMORROW NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ON THIS WINTRY DAY along the shores of Canada’s Hudson Bay, five of us are rumbling over the tundra in a purpose-built vehicle, searching for polar bears. Outside, a snowstorm has created near-whiteout conditions; it is, observes one of our number, as if we are driving inside a Ping-Pong ball. Then the heat goes out in our Tundra Buggy, and despite repeated attempts at resuscitation, it refuses to sputter back to life. There is nothing but a thin layer of glass and metal protecting us from the elements. The sun is setting. It is cold. But we are perfectly safe; we’re within range of warm accommodations, even if we’ll be feeling the effects of the elements by…

ILLUMINATING THE MYSTERIES—AND WONDERS—ALL AROUND US EVERY DAY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC JAGGED JAWS The spiral-toothed giants tripled in size over the eight million years they roamed the seas. Their unique jaws—an anatomical feature never seen again—could slice soft prey like a sword and detach creatures from their hard shells. Opening for attack The Helicoprion’s gaping jaw far exceeded the mouth angle of today’s great white shark but had only a third of the bite force, closer to that of a modern crocodile’s jaw. Catch and no release It gripped prey with middle teeth angled backward. As the jaw closed, back teeth pushed the kill deeper into the Helicoprion’s narrow mouth and throat. GUESSING GAME Was the whorl part of its snout? A defensive fin? Theories abounded. It wasn’t until 2013, when…

It might be hard at first glance to see what things like toothbrushes, tires, cigarettes, and shoes have in common. But look closer and you’ll find that, like so many objects in our daily lives, they’re often made to a greater or lesser extent of the miracle stuff: plastic. That stuff is now a planetary problem. Sometimes, because the plastic is mixed with other materials—including other plastics, such as in shoes—it’s difficult or impossible to recycle. In many places, recycling, incineration, or disposal in a landfill isn’t an option, not to mention all the litter that ends up in rivers and oceans. And so, more often than not, after a short useful life, plastic objects embark on what’s likely to be a centuries-long afterlife as trash. They’re thrown into rivers…

Figuring out how to observe exotic animals humanely can be complicated and confusing. Watching them from a safe distance in the wild is ideal, animal welfare advocates say. To assess how facilities treat captive animals, you can refer to internationally recognized standards inspired by a 1965 U.K.government report. Known as the “five freedoms,” they’re used by animal welfare groups worldwide and by the U.S., Canadian, and European veterinary medical associations. 1 Freedom from hunger and thirst Look for facilities where animals appear to be well-fed and have access to clean water at all times. 2 Freedom from discomfort Observe whether animals have an appropriate environment, including shelter, ample space, a comfortable resting area, and a secluded place away from crowds. 3 Freedom from pain, injury, or disease Avoid facilities where…

The conservation group African Parks (AP) has a new approach to rescuing Africa’s wild spaces as armed conflict, poaching, and other threats encroach. It agrees to provide all the resources to rehabilitate a park, restore its wildlife, and support surrounding communities—but the government, which remains the owner of the park, must give the group complete control over park management. MEASURES OF SUCCESS 23 Rhinos introduced to Akagera since 2017, five from European zoos 28 Elephants poached in Zakouma (2010-2018) vs. 4,000 poached (2002-2010) 55 Critically endangered Kordofan giraffes now roam in Garamba, up from 22 in 2012 520 Elephants relocated from Majete and Liwonde to repopulate Nkhotakota 5,017 Wire snares removed from Liwonde in 2018, with 36,200 collected since 2015 7,722 Square miles (twice the size of Yellowstone) cleared of…