CoolTo

Giveawa
See page

31.

DARE TO EXPLORE
natgeokids.com

HEADS E
OF STON

do

l
o
o
c

SEPTEMBER 2016

SEA
RES

ADVERTISEMENT

music
videos

vet
shows

cute
critters

Saturdays on Nat GeoWILD

Check local listings for times.

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shows

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Melina Gerosa Bellows
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Sit, stay, and find out about

some amazing canines.

18

Sea Otter Rescue

A stranded pup gets a new homeand

swimming lessonsfrom kind humans.

Guardians of Stone
Ancient statues keep watch over hundreds
of tombs in the Colombian mountains.

24

22

Telling Tails
A lemurs tail is a flag, fan, and scarf
all in one.

Polka-Dot Lake

Discover what gives this body of

water its eye-popping colors.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS (ISSN 1542-3042) is published ten times a year

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10 Cool Dogs

26

Departments
4 Weird But True!
5 Guinness World Records

6
7
8
9

Bet You Didnt Know

Awesome 8
Cool Inventions
By the Numbers

10
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28

Chew on This
Sports Funnies
Amazing Animals
Fun Stuff

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COVER: COURTESY JAZWARES (TOY); VGM6 / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS (PUPPY); ART DIRECTORS & TRIP / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (STONE HEAD); BRENNA HERNANDEZ /
SHEDD AQUARIUM / CATERS NEWS (SEA OTTER). PAGE 2: DETROIT LAKES TRIBUNE / BRIAN BASHAM (DOG MAYOR); CATERS NEWS AGENCY (BEEKEEPER DOG); DAVID
LVAREZ MARTINEZ (LIFEGUARD DOG); ZHUYONGMING / GETTY IMAGES (SHANGHAI TOWER); BRENNA HERNANDEZ / SHEDD AQUARIUM / CATERS NEWS (SEA OTTER); ART
DIRECTORS & TRIP / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (STONE HEAD); KONRAD WOTHE / MINDEN PICTURES (LEMUR); GUNTER MARX / HI / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (POLKA-DOT LAKE)

BY JULIE BEER AND MICHELLE HARRIS

outrageous facts.
MALE KANGAROOS
THEIR ARM
MUSCLES
TO
FEMALES.

FLEX

SOME

KINDS
OF

APPLES
ARE PINK

ON THE INSIDE.
A billboard in

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,

stretches the length of
9 basketball courts.

GIANT CUTTLEFISH
have
BAGEL-SHAPED
BRAINS.

HERDSOF BUFFALO-SIZE
RODENTSONCE ROAMED

SOUTH AMERICA.
Caribou
release an odor
from their ankles
when threatened.

SEPTEMBER 2016

One indoor soccer

match in Alberta,
Canada, lasted
for 30 hours.

GET MORE!

Bookk and
d pp
DAVE WATTS / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (KANGAROO); IMAN KHALILI
(APPLES); ANTONIO CAMACHO / GETTY IMAGES (CUTTLEFISH)

s
s
e
n
n
i
u
G
Wo

HINGM
S
I
N
AST IES F F
ST FILES
THE

TEDDY BEAR
BREAKS THE

PHOTO BY 2170 / GAMMA-RAPHO VIA GETTY IMAGES (TEDDY BEAR); DREW GARDNER / GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS 2003 (EVANS);
BLAIR HEDGES / TEMPLE UNIVERSITY (LIZARD). INFORMATION PROVIDED BY 2016 GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS LIMITED.

BANK!

How much would you pay for

a teddy bear? One man paid
$2.1 million in 2000 for one,
making it the most valuable
vintage (that means really
old) teddy bear. The bear
comes with a designer coat
and hat, plus a backup outfit
and a miniature suitcase.
Visitors can see the stuffed
toy on display at the Teddy
Bear Museum in South Korea.
This fancy bears just for
lookingnot for snuggling.

MAN HAS

CARONHIS

BRAIN

If you told John Evans that fame had gone to his head,
hed probably say Thanks! The man with the 24-inch neck
(about 8 inches bigger than an average mans) holds the
record for the heaviest car ever balanced on the head. With
help from a crane that lifts the 352-pound car body into
position, Evans performs the feat only on a windless day and
on ground thats perfectly flat. Otherwise, he might be the
one whos flat!

LIZARD A DIME
FITS
ON

The worlds smallest lizard is so tiny that it can stretch across a quarter
and curl up on a dime! Discovered in a cave on an island off the coast of the
Dominican Republic, Sphaerodactylus ariasae (right) shares the record with
another lizard, Sphaerodactylus parthenopion. Theyre smaller than any other
known reptile, bird, or mammal. So the next time you travel to this island,
watch where you step.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS

BY KIMBERLY FORKNER

wacky facts
about the world
The minute hand

Londons
Big Ben
clock travels

on

about 118 miles a year.

The

50 tallest
mountains
in the world
are all in

Asia.

The

surface

of the Atlantic
Ocean is

saltier
than the surface of
the Pacific Ocean.
6

SEPTEMBER 2016

About two-thirds
of all known

tornadoes
in the world occur in the
United States.
5
The

Great Wall
of China

spans roughly
13,000 milesthats
almost twice as
long as the continent
tinent

Africa.

BIG
WINNER!
Congratulations to the 2016
National Geographic Bee champion,
Rishi Nair, 12, from Seffner, Florida.
He won a $50,000 college scholarship, a trip to Alaska, and a lifetime
membership to the National Geographic Society. Go online to learn
more about the Nat Geo Bee.

natgeokids.com/geobee
Ask your teacher to register
your school for the 2017 Bee
by January 23, 2017.

KMI IMAGES / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (BIG BEN); REBECCA HALE / NG STAFF (NAIR)

me
BY JEN AGRESTA

1 KNOCKOUT
Growing to be as
long as a giraffe is
tall, a giant saltwater
crocodile has an appetite thats
as big as its body. To snag prey, a
saltie first knocks out its target
with its powerful tail, then drags its
victim underwater until it drowns.

A BABY SALTIE
LOOKS FOR PREY
UNDERWATER.

2 BEAR IT

3 TRUE COLORS

The ggrizzly bear is a speedy and

steallthy hunter, preying on animals
as tiny as a mouse and as large as a
moos
moose. Supersharp, curved claws help
the bear trap prey while its strong
teeth tear its meals to shreds.

The bold colors on a poison

dart frogfound in the rain
forests of Central and South
Americatell predators to
watch out. Smaller than a
paper clip, this red-and-blue
amphibian oozes poison
through its sticky skin.

6 DEADLY BLOW
A threatened puffer
fish isnt just full of
hot air: The long
spikes that cover
its balloon-shaped
body are toxic to
the touch. In fact
each individual fish
contains enough toxins
to kill 30 adult humans.

4 SHOCKING STING
Smaller than a basketball, the
Australian box jellyfish stuns prey
with a deadly injection of venom.
Swim far away if you see one: Its
toxic tentacles can stretch 10 feet.

5 TEAM PRIDE
In a pride of African lions, the females do
most of the hunting. Typically lionesses team
up to take down large prey, with one big cat
delivering a fatal bite to the neck while the
others pounce for the feast.

CH

K OUT
OOK!

7 COLD AS ICE
In the Arctic, polar bears stalk prey as they
emerge from the icy water, relying on their
speed and size to pounce. With a swift swipe,
a polar bear can nab a seala meal that
provides eight days of energy for the bear.
REINHARD DIRSCHERL / GETTY IMAGES (1); ANDREANITA / DREAMSTIME (2);
DIRK ERCKEN / DREAMSTIME (3); KAREN GOWLETT-HOLMES / GETTY IMAGES (4);
ISTOCK / ADRIAAN J VAN DEN BERG (5); MRDOOMITS / DREAMSTIME (6);
PR EDLUND / DREAMSTIME (7); SERGEY URYADNIKOV / DREAMSTIME (8)

8 BIG BITE
As the worlds largest flesh-eating fish, the great
white shark bites with a force thats 20 times more
powerful than a human jaw. Its 300 teeth slice into
prey like tiny steak knives, ripping victims to pieces.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS

BY CRISPIN BOYER

OR

POWER
Give your paper airplanes an energy ost.
The motorized propeller and rudder of the
flier and is
PowerUp 3.0 clips onto your folded fl
controlled with a smartphone app. Just fire up
the app and use the on-screen contrrols to start
the propeller. Then toss up the plane and watchh it
soar. You can change the flight path by tilting your
smartphone in different directions. The app detects
the phones angle and prompts the rudder to steer the
plane in the same direction. The PowerUp 3.0 runs for
about 10 minutes on a single charge. With this gadget
powering your planes, the fun will really take off.
USE YOUR
PHONE TO
FLY IT.

SHOWERHEAD
SPEAKER

EASY
CYCLI
CYCLIN

Enjoy singing in the shower? Now you can

belt out tunes to music coming straight
from above. The Moxie showerhead contains
a waterproof speaker that connects wirelessly to your smartphone or tablet. First
pull up your playlist on your mobile device,
which will send a signal to the speaker to play the
music. Then turn on the water and enjoy a songfilled soak
(Just make
sure to leave your mobile
soak.(Just
m
device soomeplace dry!) Want to continue
your jam
j session after turning off the
shoower? Just pop out the speaker
frrom the showerhead and take your
m
music on tour.

Talk about standing up for

yourself. Usually its up to the
rider of a unicycle to keeep
it steady so that it doesnt
topple over. But the SBU
U
V3an engine-powered
unicyclestays balanced
all by itself. Hop on the
unicycles seat and placee
your feet on the footressts
on either side of the whheel.
When you lean forward, built-in
sensors signal the motoor to
accelerate. Tilting backk makes
it brake. If you veer tooo far in
will
any one direction, the unicycle
u
sense too much motionn and adjust
itself to keep you uprigght. This
hands-free ride has gott your back!

YOU CAN
TAKE THE
SPEAKER
OUT!

SEPTEMBER 2016

POWERUP TOYS / TAILOR TOYS LLC (POWERUP 3.0, BOTH);; KOHLER

CO. (MOXIE, BOTH); FOCUS DESIGNS INC, PHOTOGRAPHER DAVID
MARTSCHINSKE, RIDER ALAN ECOFF (UNICYCLE)

THIS
IS THE
SPEAKER!

Nu

lackbeard was one of the most feared

irates in history. From 1716 to 1718 his crew
ttacked ships on the Atlantic Ocean and
aribbean Sea, stealing their valuables.
is sunken ship, the Queen Annes Revenge,
w
was found off North Carolina in 1995.
Read swashbuckling stats about this vessel.

CHECK OUT
THE BOOK!

Number of
cannons:
Crew size:

220

s
e
t
a
pr

40

Weight of ship:

220 tons

Number
of masts:

Length of

ship:

100
feet

Length of one of
the ships anchors:

Weight of anchor:

2,000

pounds

JAMES WESTON (NUMBERED BACKGROUND);

PROTASOV AN / SHUTTERSTOCK (PIRATE)

11

feet

The shipwreck was

under the ocean for

almost

300 years.

Number of artifacts recovered:

280,000

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS

CHEW

ON THIS

BY KAY BOATNER

PAD THAI

First cooked up in Thailand, pad thai loosely translates to Thaistyle frying. Found in restaurants worldwide, the meal can also
be bought at practically any roadside stand in Thailand. Now
thats a tasty road trip!

COLLECT BADGES!
Go online to earn your
Food badge.
natgeokids.com/badges

SCALLIONS
are used in
some places to
treat the
common cold.

Its a custom
for people to eat
RICE NOODLES
on their birthday
in some Asian
countries.

The
average
SHRIMP has
10 legs.

CH
T
To many
people, the
herb CILANTRO
tastes like
soap.

COOL THINGS
ABOUT
THAILAND
SEPTEMBER 2016

Muay Thai boxing, Thailands

national sport, is known as
the art of eight limbs.

UT
OOK!

Buddhist monks
ate TOFU as
part of their
vegetarian diets
as far back as

200 B.C.

The countrys
national symbol is
the elephant.

Thailand means
Land of the Free
in English.

Thailand
has over a
thousand
islands.

SOMMAIL / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS (PAD THAI); CRYSTAL CARTIER / STOCKFOOD
CREATIVE / GETTY IMAGES (NOODLES); AFRICA STUDIO / SHUTTERSTOCK (CILANTRO)

BY KELLEY MILLER

REUTERS / PATRICK SMITH (1); REUTERS / REUTERS / BRIAN SNYDER (2)

i hope the
judges like
my new move.
im calling it
awkward
sloth.

1
theres a
moon bounce
in the parking
lot? i want
a turn!

Adam Jones of the Baltimore

Orioles looks for the ball
over the outfield wall during
a 2012 baseball game in
Baltimore, Maryland.

2
Gymnast Gabrielle
Douglas of the United
States falls on the
balance beam at the
2012 Summer Olympics
in London, England.

11

Small House Den

Pi

Light Up
Friends

tl
Den

Friends
with Pets

Adopt a Pet

2016 WildWorks, Inc. All rights reserved. 2016 National Geographic Partners, LLC. All rights reserved.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC and Yellow Border Design are trademarks of the National Geographic Society, used under license. All rights reserved.

this
is some
"koala-ty"
hand gear.

S
A
L
A
O
K
WEAR

S
N
E
T
T
I
M
Sydney Australia
Goldie the koala isnt trying to make a fashion statement with his snazzy-looking mittens. The
marsupials gloves are helping to heal his injured paws.
Goldie is on the mend after his hands were burned in a bushfire, one of many that rage
across Australia during the continents spring and summer. Little rain falls then, putting koalas
like Goldie in danger. The animals hands are often singed from holding on to burned trees.
Healthy paws are critical for a koalas survival in the wild, says Josey Sharrad, a wildlife
worker for the International Fund for Animal Welfare. To treat Goldie and other koalas, Sharrad
and fellow caregivers applied a special ointment to their burns and covered their paws in cloth
to keep them from getting infected. But burns like Goldies can take up to a year to fully recover, and cloth bandages need to be changed daily.
The group put out a call for fabricin the form of mittens. People all over responded, from
China, Russia, the United States, and even Kazakhstan. Now the organization says they have
enough mittens to keep the marsupials covered for some time. Looks like Goldie wont be the
only koala to get a helping mitten, er, hand.
Allyson Shaw

12

SEPTEMBER 2016

Koalas have
fingerprints ju
st
like humans do
.

MIKE BURTON / NEWSPIX / REX / SHUTTERSTOCK (GOLDIE); DEREK LEE / CATERS NEWS (OMO); DAVE KEMPAS (TIGGER, LOOT)

it's not
a stretch
to say i'm
awesome.

WHITE GIRAFFE SPOTTED

Tarangire National Park, Tanzania
While studying animals in Tarangire National Park, wildlife biologist Derek Lee
came upon a startling discovery: a white giraffe. I had heard rumors of one
living in the area, Lee says. But I was still shocked when I first saw her because
she was so incredibly white against the green vegetation.
Omo, as the giraffe was later named, has a rare condition called leucism (LOOSism). This means that some of her skin cells cant create pigments, or substances
that produce color in an animals skin and hair. Her condition is so unusual that shes
only the second white giraffe to be spotted at the park in nearly 20 years.
As a calf, the hard-to-miss Omo was at risk of being killed by lions, hyenas,
and leopards. Now Lee thinks her biggest threat is probably humans, who illegally
hunt giraffes for their meat. Fortunately Omo lives in a protected national park,
where she has the highest chance of survival, he says. Lee will continue to monitor Omos movements, along with 2,100 other giraffes in and around the park.
He definitely wont have much trouble picking her out from the herd!
Rose Davidson

Cat

WEST LINN,
OREGON

Koalas

SYDNEY,
AUSTRALIA

Giraffe

TARANGIRE NATIONAL
PARK, TANZANIA

CAT STEALS STUFF

West Linn, Oregon
Tigger the cat is a great hunter. Problem is, he hunts other peoples stuff!
A few years ago, Tiggers owners, Dave and Betty Kempas, noticed gloves,,
candy wrappers, and stuffed animals appearing in their driveway overnightt. To
catch the culprit, Dave, a police sergeant, set up a camera. When he reviewed
the footage, he was surprised to spy his own cat carrying the stolen items!
Hundreds of things have popped up in our driveway, but Ive never
actually seen Tigger steal something in person, Dave Kempas says. If it
werent for those tapes, Id never have any idea it was him! Kempas, who llives
pped
next door to a high school, assumes most of the stolen stuff has been dropp
by students. He returns what he can and donates any unclaimed items.
According to cat behavior expert Marilyn Krieger, Tiggers behavior isnt
that unusual. Cats enjoy attention, Krieger says. Tigger probably figures the
more stuff he brings back, the more attention hell get from his owners.
The funniest thing Tigger ever stole? Someones schoolwork! A dog might
not have eaten the kids homeworkbut a cat did steal it. Sara Schwartz

i'm
A criminal
asterma
mind.
m

TIGGER
WITH A
SOCK

TiGger's loot

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS

13

l
o
co
Sit,sta
lear
some
canines.
BY JAMIE KIFFEL-ALCHEH

TOP DOG
Cormorant, Minnesota
Duke the Great Pyrenees is large and in
charge! Hes the mayor of Cormorant,
Minnesota, a tiny village of just about 10
people. During the towns 2014 election,
Duke beat out a human opponent by winning
three-quarters of the vote. The dogs title is
honorary. His job is to represent our village
at events with neighboring towns, says
Tammy Odegaard, Dukes press secretary.
And his position comes with major perks.
After winning, the commanding pooch was
given a salarya years worth of kibble.

Dogs and humans have lived together for as

many as 20,000 yearsbut these animals often
still surprise us with their smarts, athleticism,
and loyalty. Every dog is an individual and has
amazing traits, veterinarian Gary Weitzman says.
Check out 10 ultra-cool canines.
Top Dog

MINNESOTA

Snake
Smackdown
SOUTH AFRICA

Pop-up
Pooch
CANADA

Friends
Fur-ever
CONNECTICUT

14

SEPTEMBER 2016

POP-UP POOCH
Creemore, Canada
Austin the Australian cattle
dog can leap the length of
nine skateboards. Thats 25.5
feet! The pooch performs
these jumbo jumps at dockdiving competitions, where
dogs run to the end of a dock
dock,
spring into the air to catch a
tossed toy, and then plunge
into the water. Contestants
are judged on how far they
leap. Austin has become a
dock-diving champion in
Canada, jumping double the
distance of some of his competitors.His motivation is
catching that toy, owner
Ashley Hopkins says.Hed do
anything for it.
AUSTIN
LEAPS FOR
HIS TOY.

SNAKE
SMACKDOWN
Cape Town, South Africa
Tracy Jacobs was in her garage with
her dog, Dexter the bull terrier, when a
deadly cobra slithered up and bit the
pup. Grabbing it by the head, Dexter flung
the snake out of the garage away from
Jacobs. The dog won the showdownbut
needed immediate care for his bite. Jacobs
rushed Dexter to the vet, who gave the pooch a fiftyfifty chance of survival. Luckily Dexter recovered and is back to his
energetic self. Only now hes more protective of me than ever!
Jacobs says. When youre a superhero, your work is never done.

NOW
SHOWING
SHO
HO IN !
SHOWING!

ICKS
LIST

natgeokids.com
/september

friend
duty?
i'm on it!

FRIENDS FUR-EVER
Greenwich, Connecticut
Its easy to spot Odie the Australian
shepherds best pal. Its a cheetah named
Adaeze thats always by the dogs side.
Both live at the Lionshare Educational
Organization Zoological Conservation Center, or
LEO. After she was born, Adaezes cheetah family
wasnt able to care for her. So keepers stepped in
to raise the cat, pairing her with Odie so that she
wouldnt get lonely.Dogs are calming, LEO founder Marcella Leone says.We knew Odie would be a
great companion. The pair bonded instantly. Now
they spend their time cuddling and play-wrestling.
Who says cats and dogs cant get along?
ODIE (LEFT) AND ADAEZE
POSE WITH LEO FOUNDER
MARCELLA LEONE.
DETROIT LAKES TRIBUNE / BRIAN BASHAM (DUKE);
ERIKA A. PHOTOGRAPHY (AUSTIN); TRACY JACOBS
(DEXTER); TYLER SIZEMORE (ODIE AND ADAEZE, BOTH)

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS

15

5
RESCUERS
FOUND TILLIE
(LEFT) BESIDE
THE CISTERN
WHERE PHOEBE
WAS TRAPPED.

Planet
Protector

On Standby

ENGLAND

WASHINGTON STATE

Bee
Bodyguard

Fridge
Raider

Vashon, Washington
Tillie the Irish setter mix wasnt
going to let anything happen to
her friend, a basset hound
named Phoebe. The Irish setter
waited by her pooch pal for six days after Phoebe became
trapped in a four-foot-deep cistern, which is like a well. The
duo had slipped away from their home and were scampering
through the woods when Phoebe fell into the empty cistern.
Nearly a week after their disappearance, a neighbor heard a
dog barking in the woods behind his house. It wass Tillie.
Tillie
Owner BJ Duft and other rescuers combed the arrea. The
search party eventually found Phoebe unharmed in the
cisternand Tillie protectively watching over heer.

SAFE AND
HAPPY AFTER
PHOEBES
RESCUE

watch
out, litter:
i'm coming
to find
you!

AUSTRALIA

CALIFORNIA

PLANET
PROTECTOR

Word
Wizard

SOUTH
CAROLINA

Beach
Patrol
SPAIN

BEACH PATROL

San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain

How does Bruno the Newfoundland keep beachgoers out of
hot water? He works with owner David lvarez as a lifeguard!
Brunos webbed paws, which all Newfoundlands have, make
him a superb swimmer, and hes strong enough to haul oneand-a-half-ton objects in water. So lvarez teamed up with
professional dog trainers to teach Bruno how to assist with
rescues. Today Bruno helps lvarez pull struggling swimmers
to shore and woofs if anyone swims near dangerous waters.
When Bruno gives a warning, people listen! lvarez says.
BRUNO
PRACTICES
FOR LIFEGUARD DUTY
BY PULLING
A TRAINER.

16

ON STANDBY

SEPTEMBER 2016

Bodmin, England
Paris the boxer is one eco-friendly fur ball. When owner
Fran Hodges takes the pooch on walks, Paris grabs recyclable litter like plastic bottles off the ground. She carries it
until we reach a recycling bin near our home, Hodges says.
Once there, Paris drops the recyclable beside the bin so
Hodges can pick it up and throw it in. Hodges says the nineyear-old dog wasnt trained to do this. With Paris on duty,
the neighborhood definitely isnt going to the dogs.

BRUNO
AND
OWNER
DAVID
LVAREZ

ALLIE LOOKING FOR

PEANUT BUTTER

FRIDGE RAIDER

BAZZ IS
DECKED OUT
IN HIS STINGPROOF SUIT,
INCLUDING A
MESH HELMET
AND SHOES.

San Luis Obispo, California

Adam Montiel came home one
day to find his fridge open and the
floor covered with food. Montiel suspected
a culpritAllie, his yellow Labrador. After
setting up a camera, Montiel was able to
catch the dog the next time she raided the
fridge. Footage showed her pulling out the
bottom freezer drawer by yanking its handle with a forepaw. With the drawer open,
she was able to grab the bottom edge of the
fridge door with her jaws to wrench it open.
Then she knocked food to the floor, looking
for a snack. Montiel now locks Allie out of
the kitchen when hes gone. But knowing
Allie, she may find a way around it!

CHASER SITS NEAR

THE TOYS SHE KNOWS
THE NAMES OF.

BEE BODYGUARD
Tintinara, Australia
Bazz the black Labrador is causing a buzz.
Thats because hes been trained to protect
bees from a disease that can wipe out entire
hives. Known as American foulbrood, the
sickness is caused by bacteria that give off
a light scent. Bazz uses his super-sensitive
nose to sniff out infected hives on the bee
farm run by his owner, Josh Kennett. Hives
with the disease are isolated so the bees
inside dont pass it to other hives. To stay
safe, the furry bodyguard wears a custommade sting-proof suit with a mesh helmet
and dog-size shoes. Thats bee-yond cute.

WORD WIZARD

GET
MOR
MORE!
REE!
R

ENT
OOF

natgeokids.com
/september

AMY CAREY, VASHON ISLAND PET PROTECTORS (TILLIE AND PHOEBE AT CISTERN); AP PHOTO / TED S. WARREN (AFTER RESCUE);
SWNS GROUP (PARIS); DAVID LVAREZ MARTINEZ (BRUNO, BOTH); CATERS NEWS AGENCY (BAZZ); MICHAEL DURHAM / MINDEN
PICTURES (BEE); ADAM MONTIEL (ALLIE, BOTH); SEBASTIEN MICKE / PARIS MATCH ARCHIVE / GETTY IMAGES (CHASER)

10

Spartanburg, South Carolina

This might leave you speechless: Chaser the
border collie understands over a thousand
words! Owner John Pilley started teaching
Chaser the names of her toys as a puppy.
Hed place a toy alone on the floor, say its
name, and tell Chaser to fetch it. Pilley
would repeat this several times until the
dog could recognize the toy by its name.
Then hed do the same thing with a different
toy. Soon the border collies owner could set
out a pile of objects, name a specific one,
and watch Chaser fetch the correct toy!
Now the 12-year-olds vocabulary includes
hundreds and hundreds of words. Heres
another she should learn: genius.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS

17

Step out of the bustling city streets of

Shanghai into Shanghai Tower, and its
almost as if youve entered a separate
cityonly this one is vertical and
made of glass. The 121-story structure
is divided into nine different zones
that are like stacked neighborhoods.
Each zone is 12 to 15 stories high and
has its own businesses, shops, and
restaurants.

GLASS CITY

inding a building thats superior to this

soaring structure is a tall order. Welcome to
Shanghai Tower, the worlds second tallest
skyscraper. More than six times the height
of the Statue of Liberty, this tower in China boasts
a unique design and cutting-edge technology. View
the awesome features of this groundbreaking
superstructure.

BY AVERY ELIZABETH HURT

You wont believe the secrets inside this tower.

ZHUYONGMING / GETTY IMAGES (MAIN IMAGE); GENSLER (OBSERVATION DECK, TWISTING

SHAPE, BUILDING BASE); CHRIS PHILPOT (ELEVATOR GRAPHIC); MARTIN WALZ (MAP)

Talk about an unexpected twist.

Constructed in a spiral shape with
rounded edges, Shanghai Tower
twists 120 degrees from top to
bottom. The curving frame helps
the tower stay intact. Destructive
winds often blow through the
city and can damage structures
over time. But because of its
rounded shape, wind flows around
the tower rather than hitting it
head-on. That
reduces the
winds impact.

BENDING BUILDING

Shanghai Tower brings the outdoors inside. Each of its

neighborhoods is designed with a garden that includes
clusters of plants and tree-lined walkways. The greenery is
watered with rain thats piped into large containers where
the plants grow. The plants dont just look good. They also
help keep the tower cool by absorbing heat in the summer.

SKY GARDENS

OBSERVATION DECK

The 119th floor has a feature that you definitely dont want
to missthe worlds highest observation deck. Sitting 1,841
feet in the air, the enclosed deck allows visitors to see for
30 miles on a clear day, all the way to the East China Sea.

LOOK OUT BELOW!

19

ROLLERS

CABLES

MOTOR

COUNTERWEIGHT

CABLES

CAPSULE

PULLEY

RAILS

res how Shanghai Towers

elevators work.
Powerful motors and the
sleek shape of the capsules
that hold the cars help
create speed.
Each high-speed elevator
car hangs from one end of
a set of steel cables.
A counterweight hangs
from the other end.
A motor moves a pulley
linked to the cables to
raise the car and lower
the counterweight, or
vice versa.
The car travels on rollers
along a set of rails that run
through the shaft.

L ABOUT THE ELEVATOR

This might floor you: The towers 11 high-speed elevators

are some of the worlds fastest. Each is connected to
a turbocharged motor that whisks the elevator car up
and down the shaft along a set of rails. The elevators can
travel 45 miles an hour, twice the speed of an average
elevator. Sounds like a straight-up cool ride.

SWIFT LIFT

AN ILLUSTRATION OF
THE BOTTOM LEVELS
OF SHANGHAI TOWER

To support such a ginormous tower, builders had to first

create an extremely strong foundation. First they dug
an 18-foot-deep basin in the earth. Then they added 2.15
million cubic feet of concrete, pouring the material nonstop for 63 hours to produce the skyscrapers base.

THE DEEP END

CITY

C H I N A

natgeokids.c
/septembe

SHOULD
LIVE IN

WHICH

When its cold, you probably add

some extra layers to your clothes.
Shanghai Tower wears layers
too! A wall of glass wraps around
the building. Then a second
glass wall encircles the first. The
two walls(also called skins) are
built up to 30 feet apart, and
theyre connected by walkways.
The double layers act a lot like
blankets, trapping in warmth
from heaters in winter and cold
air from cooling units in summer.
This creates a very comfortable
environment and keeps energy
waste to a minimum. It pays to
have a thick skin!

OFF THE WALL

INNER SKIN

OUTER SKIN

R
E
T
T
O
SEA

A stranded pup gets a new homeand

swimming lessonsfrom kind humans.
BY ALICIA KLEPEIS
eawater thrashes against
a rocky shoreline in central
California, where a sea otter
pup lies stranded. The oneweek-old lets out a piercing cry
for her mother. But the two have somehow
become separated. Newborn sea otters
depend on their moms to feed them and
keep them warm. Without an adult to care
for her, the pup wont make it. Her cries
continue as her hunger and distress grow.

SAFE AND SOUND

A hiker in the area hears the sea
otters desperate calls. She alerts the
Marine Mammal Center, which contacts
biologist Colleen Young at the California
Department of Fish and Wildlife. But
darkness is now falling, and the rugged
spot where the pup is marooned is too
dangerous to get to at night. Young must

20

SEPTEMBER 2016

hold off until the next

morning to check on
the pup. This will also
give the otters mother
a chance to return for
the baby. Young waits
anxiously, hoping the
newborn can hold on
just a little longer.
Early the next day, Young hikes to
where the sea otter was spotted. She
finds the pup alone on the rocks by
the shore. Shes dehydrated, Young
says. And at this point Young knows
the mother probably wont return. The
biologist scoops up the whimpering
otter and carries her back to her car.
Young delivers the pup to biologist Karl
Mayer, who drives her to the Monterey Bay
Aquarium 30 minutes away in Monterey,
California. Staff at the aquariums Sea

get ting
d
weighe

Otter Program give the

animal a checkup. The
pup weighs just over two
pounds. Shes also very
weak. The animal hasnt
had any food for at least 16
hours, Mayer says.
Caretakers pump fluids
into the pup to rehydrate
her body. Then they place her in a 4-by-12foot, 28-inch-deep pool with a ledge she
can climb onto when she needs a break
from the water. Staff monitor the pup
24/7, bottle-feeding her formula every
three to four hours.
By the time the pup is a month old,
shes bulked up to five pounds. Now the
animal is stable enough to move to the
Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois,
where shell receive more care. The pup is
placed in a pet carrier and loaded onto a

SHEDD AQUARIUM / BRENNA HERNANDEZ (BIG IMAGE, GETTING WEIGHED);

BRENNA HERNANDEZ / SHEDD AQUARIUM / CATERS NEWS (CHOW TIME, PORTRAIT)

Sea otter
colonies can
include over
a thousand
individuals.
The animals
can close their
nostrils and ears
underwater.

Sea otters
use rocks as
hammers to
crack open
shells.

SAVE ANIMALS,

SAVE THE WORLD!

National Geographic Kids has an
initiative called Mission Animal Rescue
to show kids how to save endangered
animals. You can help too! Try out these
cool rescue activities.
Play endangered animal charades. Act
out threatened species and have friends
guess what youre mimicking.

e
chow tim
plane bound for Chicago. Two caretakers
accompany her on the four-hour flight,
then drive her in a van to her new home.

OTTER LESSONS
The otter, now named Luna, quickly settles
into her new pool. At first staff feed her
formula made from a mixture of blended
clam meat and water every three
hours. Eventually she starts
eating squid and shrimp. Ice
cubes are Lunas favorite
treat. She enjoys batting
around the slippery
snacks as much as she
loves licking them.
Lunas caretakers
begin working with her
to improve her swimming
skills. They encourage
LUNA GROW
BIGGER AT S
her to dive by putting
THE
SH
EDD AQUARI

weighted toys at the bottom of her pool.

They also show her how to crack open
clamshells so she can eat with less help
from humans.
Luna wont have the survival skills to
return to the wild. But living in a large
pool with three other sea otters at the
aquarium is the next best thing. Once the
35-pound animal is released into
the habitat, she floats on her
back toward her
new otter pals.
Luna is healthy
and relaxed, says
Tim Binder, the
Shedd Aquariums
executive vice
president of animal
care. Its truly
amazing how far the
animal has come.

Write a script for a public service

announcement to raise awareness
about endangered animals.
In September complete the Mission
Animal Rescue monthly challenge.
Your mission? Go online (below) and
find out how you can earn a Mission
Animal Rescue badge.
Check out the National
Geographic Kids book
series Mission Animal
Rescue. For more
details, to take the
Mission Animal Rescue
monthly challenge, or
to donate to the cause,
grab a parent and go
online.
natgeokids.com
/mission-animal-rescue

GET MORE!
SEE EXTRA PICS OF LUNA.
natgeokids.com/september

UM.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS

21

Ancient
statues keep
watch over
hundreds of

tombs in
the mountains
of Colombia.

A SMILING STATUE BELIEVED

TO REPRESENT A SUN GOD
WELCOMES VISITORS TO SAN
AGUSTN ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK.

BY SCOTT ELDER
seven-foot-tall warrior glares
across a grassy valley in the
Andes Mountains of South
America. He flashes fierce jaguar-like
fangs and watches the scene with his
stony stare. Makes sense: The figure is
made of, well, stone.
Some 600 of these statues have
occupied the area near San Agustn,
Colombia, for more than a thousand
years. But nnobodys sure why they were
builtor whhat the statues can tell us
about who bbuilt them. Scientists are
digging up cclues to solve the mystery.

STON
NES AND BONES
When the Spanish colonized
the region about 400 years
ago,
a the long abandoned
statues were the only
traces of the mysterious
sculptors who made them.
Some had a guess: that
tthe creators mustve had
magical
m
powers. How else to
exxplain the sculptures when
the metal tools needed to
carrve stone didnt exist yet?
In the 20th century, less
superrstitious individuals began
excavaating the area. Their digging
uncovered complex tombs housing
old skeleetons. The size of the tombs
and the ppresence of their stone
guardianss led scientists to think
that the ricchest leaders of this ancient
community
and their treasures
were buriedd here.
Youd im
magine these tombs would
have personnal possessions, but they
didnt, archhaeologist Vctor Gonzlez
says. We weere surprised there wasnt
any treasuree inside.
The scienntists realized that the
tombs werent for the wealthy
members off the San Agustn culture
they were foor the powerful ones. The
s pernat raally powerful. We think the
supernatura
structures signify
s
that those buried

here were believed to possess unusual

powers, such as the ability to influence
the forces of nature, Gonzlez says.

COMMUNITY CLUES
To gather more clues about the
civilization, the scientists had to get
high-tech. Through a process called
radiocarbon dating, organic materials
or the remains of organisms such as
plants and animalscan be tested
to find out how old they are. Although
the tombs skeletons had mostly
turned to dust, scientists managed
to scrape together samples to test.
Their data showed that the culture
likely started 2,000 years ago and
lasted for roughly nine centuries!
Based on the number of remains
found in the area, the entire group was
estimated to number 20,000. But the
mystery of how these people carved
such detailed stone structures still
hadnt been solved.

MANY OF THE STONES CAN BE

FOUND IN A CLEARING ON ALTO
DE LOS DOLOS, OR IDOL HILL.

A STATUE
GUARDS A
TOMB ON
IDOL HILL.

TUFF ENOUGH
After examining hundreds of statues
scattered throughout what is now San
Agustn Archaeological Park, scientists
realized most of the figures were
made of tuff, a volcanic rock found in
large quantities near the park. Tuff is
brittle, and striking it with a harder
rock can easily chip off chunks and
create grooves. No magic needed!

CASE CLOSED?
While the mystery of how the statues
were made has likely been cleared
up, scientists arent done asking
questions about the people who carved
them. For instance, over how many
years were the statues created? Did
the entire community pitch in? And
most importantly, what happened to
the culture? The answers to how it
vanished arent set in stoneunlike
the statues that stand guard over
the land the people left behind.

Colombia
is the worlds
leading source
of emeralds.

The harpy
eagle, the
worlds largest
eagle, lives in
the country.

MANY OF THE STONES

HAVE SURVIVED EARTHQUAKES, EROSION, AND
ATTEMPTED LOOTINGS.

N O RTH
AMERICA
ATLANTIC
O C E AN

COLOMBIA

PACIFIC
O C E AN

S O UT H
A M E R I CA

Car

EN

EZ

Bogo

EL

IC OCE

Colombia is
part of the Ring
of Fire, a group of
countries vulnerable
to earthquakes and
volcanic eruptions.

LOM
San Ag

BRAZIL

8
ART DIRECTORS & TRIP / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (MAIN, 2); DEAGOS
(3, 5, 6, 8, BROKEN STONE); DE AGOSTINI PICTURE LIBRARY UNIVE
ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (IDOL HILL CLEARING); DIEGO LEZAMA ORE

ES (1
UP / NEWSCOM (4, 7); CARLOS MORA /
TOMB); MARTIN WALZ (MAP)

23

A lemurs tail
is a flag, fan,
and scarf
all wrapped
into one.
BY APRIL CAPOCHINO MYERS

The ring-tailed lemurs

black-and-white tail really
earns its stripes. The fluffy
extension, which is slightly
longer than the lemurs body,
helps the primate survive in
many different ways. And it
can also be pretty hilarious.
Read on to get to the bottom
of why this tail is so great.

AFRICA
IN DI A N
O C EA N

I N
D I A
N

MA

DA

O C E A
N

MADAGASCAR

ATLANTIC
O C EAN

Where ring-tailed lemurs live

24

SEPTEMBER 2016

Built-in Scarf
What better way to stay warm on a chilly day than
by snuggling up with your tail? When ring-tailed
lemurs become cold on the African island of
Madagascar where they live, they wrap their tails
around their shoulders like scarves. For even more
warmth, they may tuck their noses between their
tails and their shoulders. You can bet that these
attached scarves will never go out of style.
KONRAD WOTHE / MINDEN PICTURES (BIG IMAGE); MARTIN WALZ (MAP); PETE OXFORD / MINDEN PICTURES (SCARF); ANUP SHAH / NPL / MINDEN PICTURES (RUBBING TAIL);
TIM LAMAN / NAT GEO CREATIVE (BALANCE); CYRIL RUOSO / MINDEN PICTURES (FLAGS); CHRIS WARE (GRAPHIC); WILDWORKS, INC. (ANIMAL JAM ART)

Tail Duel

A MALE LEMUR
COATS HIS TAIL
WITH A SMELLY
SUBSTANCE.

Talk about raising a stink! Males fight over

a mate by coating their tails with a smelly
substance thats produced in scent glands
in their wrists. Then each primate waves
its tail like a fan, trying to send its stench
in the direction of its competitor. This
display is called a stink fight.(Really!)
The lemur with the strongest odor wins
the female. Some males dont even
need other foes to prepare their tails
for battle. We watched one lemur named
Tugger that would start a stink fight with
himself whenever he saw his reflection in
a camera lens! says Chris Smith, education manager for the Duke Lemur Center
in North Carolina.

On Balance

When you spend so much time climbing in the

treetops, you definitely need to avoid a balancing fail. The ring-tailed lemurs tail does
just that. As they move along narrow branches, they shift their tails from side to side
sort of like a tightrope walkers poleto stay
steady. And when they leap from one tree
branch to another, the animals adjust the
position of their tails to stay balanced as they
land.(Think of it like extending your arms to
keep upright as youu hop on one foot.)

THE ANIMALS RAISE THEIR

TAILS TO COMMUNICATE
WITH FAMILY MEMBERS.

Furry Flag
When you want to tell your parents where you are, you might send them a text. Ringtailed lemurs dont exactly carry around cell phones. Instead they use their tails to
keep in touch. Families travel around their range in packs of up to 25. As they search
the ground for fruits, flowers, and leaves to eat, they raise their tails high and swish
them back and forth like fluffy flags.That way, if a member gets separated itll easily
spot the tails and find its way back, Smith says.

CHECK OUT
THE NEW
LEMUR PET!

animaljam.com
HOW LEMURS MAY HAVE ENDED UP IN MADAGASCAR

AROUND 60 MILLION YEARS AGO, STORMS

MAY HAVE SWEPT LEMUR ANCESTORS FROM
MAINLAND AFRICA OUT TO SEA.

TO SURVIVE, THEY CLUNG TO RAFTS OF

VEGETATION THAT HAD ALSO BEEN BLOWN
INTO THE WATER.

THE RAFTS CARRIED THE LEMUR ANCESTORS

TO WHAT IS NOW MADAGASCAR.

TODAY LEMURS ONLY EXIST ON THIS AFRICAN

ISLAND.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS

25

Find out what gives this body

of water its cool colors.
The beaver
is the national
animal of
Canada.

Canada is on
the Atlantic, Arctic,
and Pacific Oceans,
giving it the longest
coastline of any
country.

BY KITSON JAZYNKA
he spotted landscape in Canadas
Okanagan Valley looks like a watercolor paint set, with blue, green,
and yellow puddles scattered across
the ground. But the water spots dont get
their color from paintinstead, theyre
full of minerals left behind as the valleys
Spotted Lake evaporates each summer.

WHAT LIES BENEATH

This lake first formed about 10,000 years
ago when a glacier melted and created a
depression in the earth where the lake now
rests. When it rains or snows in the valley,
some of the water collects underground,
where its called groundwater. That
groundwater travels through fractures in
the bedrock, which is the solid rock that

26

SEPTEMBER 2016

sits under the surface of the ground. Its

there that Spotted Lakes colorful magic
happens.
The valleys bedrock has a high concentration of minerals called magnesium sulfate, calcium sulfate, and sodium sulfate.
As groundwater seeps through the areas
bedrock, it absorbs these minerals.
The mineralized water then slowly
makes its way into the lake when something called hydrostatic pressure occurs.
Its sort of like what happens when you try
to pour more water on a very wet sponge.
The sponge cant hold any more liquid, so
some of it leaks out.
Think of Spotted Lake as a bubbling pot
of water, geologist Murray Roed says. The
water isnt warm, but it kind of bubbles up

all across the lake as the groundwater

flows up into the lake.

PASS THE SALT, PLEASE

Its the introduction of these sodium-rich
minerals into the lake that gives the spots
their unique colors.
During the spring, Spotted Lakes water
is a murky brown, with the minerals just
beginning to settle at the bottom of the
lake. But by the summertime, most of the
lakes water has evaporated. This causes the
highly mineralized water thats leftover to
pool together into spots. The color of each
pool depends on the combination of minerals and the reflection of the sun.
All of the spots typically contain large
amounts of each mineral, which often

GUNTER MARX / HI / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (MAIN); CHRIS PHILPOT (SIDEBAR ART); MARTIN WALZ (MAP)

There are
approximately
two million lakes
in Canada.

HOW THE LAKES

SPOTS TAKE SHAPE
1

Winter snowmelt and spring rain fill the lake with

water. As summer approaches, the water begins
to evaporate. Small amounts of magnesium sulfate, calcium sulfate, and sodium sulfate from
the bedrock are present in the water.

2
EVAPORATION

GET
MORE
WEIRD
WATERS!
natgeokids.com/september
geo
eoki
kid
ki
ds com//septemb
ds

crystallizes, or hardens. These deposits form

walkways that people could stand on when
the lake dries out in the late summer.

C A N A D A

BEDROCK
HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE

Summers here: Mineral-rich groundwater continues to flow into the lake through hydrostatic
pressure. The minerals slowly begin to crystallize as more water evaporates from the lake.

BRITISH
COLUMBIA

POWERFUL PUDDLES
YUKON
TERRITORY

BR

IT
IS

PACIFI

ALBERTA

CO

L
M

E
C OC

AN

Not that walking is recommended. The fishfree lake water is toxic if ingested. The caribou, coyotes, moose, brown bears, and bighorn
sheep that live in the Okanagan Valley seem to
know it and stay away from the water.
Humans, however, have long recognized
the healing powers of the lake. Aboriginal
Canadians use the lakes mud to help soothe
achy joints and other body pains.
A strangely patterned body of water, an
abundance of wildlife, and mysterious healing
powers? Sounds like Spotted Lake is, well, a
spot worth visiting.

MINERAL DEPOSITS

IA

Spotted Lake
UNITED
STATES

By mid-summer, the lake has mostly evaporated.

The remaining highly mineralized water has
pooled into numerous spots, which get their
color from the combination of minerals inside of
them, as well as from the suns reflection.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS

27

CTON

28

SEPTEMBER 2016

Grand Adventure
These tourists are exploring Grand Canyon National
Park in Arizona. Join the fun by finding the 15 items
listed below.
ANSWERS ON PAGE 35
1. soccer ball
9. ice-cream cone
2. red sunglasses
10. umbrella
3. sunscreen
11. hot dog
4. recycling bin
12. green headband
5. blue-and-yellow tent
13. postcard
6. backward baseball cap
14. map
7. striped T-shirt
15. flashlight
8. playing cards

WIN THE
BOOK!
TTRY
RY NLIN
LINE
NEE

AUG ST 310.

natgeokids.com
/september

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS

29

CHECK OUT
THIS BOOK!
SQUARE ROOTED
These images show close-up views
of things with square shapes or
patterns. Unscramble the letters
to identify whats in each picture.
Bonus: Use the highlighted letters
to solve the puzzle below.

URG

RCEOSC TEN

ARVOIIL

KCCAEEDOBRRH

F E FAW L

E LT S I

O LC B AT L H T E

BGNDIILU

PCTOSHCHO
OCTRU

HINT: What do you call frozen water when its friendly?

ANSWER:

30

SEPTEMBER 2016

TOP ROW (LEFT TO RIGHT): RICHARD T. NOWITZ; STUDIO9400 / GETTY IMAGES; IMAGE SOURCE. MIDDLE ROW (LEFT TO RIGHT): SIEDE PREIS /
GETTY IMAGES; PAUL POPLIS PHOTOGRAPHY, INC / STOCKFOOD; JOEYSWORLD.COM / ALAMY. BOTTOM ROW (LEFT TO RIGHT): MICHAEL
GOLDMAN / GETTY IMAGES; DAVID CHAPMAN / DESIGN PICS / GETTY IMAGES; PETER VON FELBERT LOOK / GETTY IMAGES.

ANSWERS ON PAGE 35

explored
You may have
ld of
e virtual woran avatar.
as
m
Ja
al
im
this page
ow explore on
nd to
ie
fr
a
s well! Ask ds to fill in
ive you wor this story
he blanks in ing it to
without show en read
h m or her. Tha laug
hi
out loud for

ue!
ney

I was walking through Jamaa with my buddy, a(n)

noun

and

. We were exploring the

adjective

noun

Kimbara Outback, filled with

verb

adverb ending in -ly

past-tense verb

the critter out. To

feast. I couldnt wait to

something gross, plural

and

verb

plant, plural

. Soon we saw

sound

same best friends name

it into the water. The

number

type of insect, plural

had

animal

grabbed a long,
held on to it, and

same animal

us, the Jammers invited us to a(n)

! But then they served us baked

, and ice cream topped with

The real reward was that we made

best friends name

around the swimming hole. It turns out a pet

past-tense verb

lost his paddles. He was stranded! Thinking

past-tense verb

adjective

. As we walked across the sand, we suddenly heard a(n)

noun, plural

a group of Jammers

we

named Captain

animal

something stinky, plural

adjective

, boiled

. Yuck! It was all right, though.

new friends.

N this AM
MAL J
Yazfrwoamres.

TALIA GOLDSMITH (ART); COURTESY JAZWARES (TOY)

id

ST 11-18.
NLINE AUGU

okids.com
ptember

ats
Ah, th ot.
p
s
e
th

do
What k this
hin
YOU t etah is
che ing?
think

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.

Aw, man! I cant find the

keys!

Hey, wait a second.

Why are you driving?

Ian W., 11
Williamsburg, Iowa

Linnea M., 12
Midwest City, Oklahoma

Quit monkeying around

and drive.

Now if only I could

find the gas pedal!

Ava G., 10
Smithtown, New York

Noah R., 12
Moncks Corner, South Carolina

Are you sure you know

what youre doing?

I wonder what
this button does.

Nicholas H., 13
Prescott, Arizona

Nate M., 11
Louisville, Tennessee

OK, now we just need

a drivers license!

Jackpot! Bananas!

Abigail C., 11
Franklin, Massachusetts

Feeling funny? Go online to play more

Back Talk. ngkidsmyshot.com

32

SEPTEMBER 2016

Meredith S., 10
Zionsville, Indiana

SUZI ESZTERHAS / MINDEN PICTURES (CHEETAHS);

JOSE B. RUIZ / NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY (MONKEYS)

From the May 2015 Issue

G
GREAT
HORNED
H
OWL UpOwlNight
O

AL YS
If wild animals used social media, what
would they say? Follow this great horned
owls day as he updates his feed.

Lives in: North and

South America
Likes: Hooting it up
and winging it

F
FRIEND
MONARCH
BUTTERFLY
YourMajesty

RED
FOX
Foxtastic

AMERICAN
BEAVER
YouBeaverBelieveIt

6 p.m.
UpOwlNight
Sad to see YourMajesty bouncing
out of here. You butterflies leave
every fall, but its still hard to deal.

Foxtastic
I found a cozy tree
stump you might want
to check out.

Foxtastic
Where ya headed, YourMajesty?

UpOwlNight
Thanks, bud. That looks like the
perfect place to sleep. But in the
meantime, weve got all night to
party! Whooooos awake?

YourMajesty
Sunny, warm, beautiful Mexico!
I cant stand the cold.

MICHAELFITZSIMMONS / DREAMSTIME (OWL PROFILE, ALL); MISSCANON / DREAMSTIME (MONARCH PROFILE, ALL); JAYMUDALIAR / DREAMSTIME (FOX
PROFILE, ALL); MUSAT CHRISTIAN / DREAMSTIME (BEAVER PROFILE, ALL); ANNA39 / GETTY IMAGES (BEAVER ON ICE); JEREMY WOODHOUSE / GETTY
IMAGES (FOX ON STUMP); HOWARD NEVITT, JR. / DREAMSTIME (OWL SELFIE); DAWNA MOORE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (MONARCH ON FLOWER)

YouBeaverBelieveIt
Hey, its not so bad!
Havent you ever slid
around on an icy pond?

YouBeaverBelieveIt
I better tuck in. Have a tail-slapping time!

7:30 a.m.
YourMajesty
Ugh, pass. OK, guys, Im going to
snoozeI have an early flight.
9 p.m.
UpOwlNight
Its about time I start looking for a nesting
area. Anyone know where I can hang?
YouBeaverBelieveIt
If you promise not to bite, you can
come hang out at my pad. I share
it with eight beaver pals.
Foxtastic
Crowded much? Not to mention kind
of dirty, with all the sticks, grass,
moss, and mud.
UpOwlNight
Yeah, no thanks. Plus all that water near
the lodge would totally fluff my feathers.

UpOwlNight
#WokeUpLikeThis.
Well, I mean, Ill go
to sleep like this.
Morning time is
my bedtime.

YourMajesty
Whoa, youre still up? That means
you can see me off! Two months.
As much as a hundred miles a day.
Its going to be EPIC.
YouBeaverBelieveIt
Your athleticism amazes.
Foxtastic
I bow down to you, Sir Monarch.
#IAmSoPunny
YourMajesty
Thanks for the super
send-off, guys. Catch
you on the flip wing!

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS

33

Special

Sh t

Photo Ark Edition

N
National
Geographic photographer
JJoel Sartore is on a mission. Through a
project
p
called Photo Ark, hes visiting zoos
around the world to snap pictures of all
12,000 species of captive animals. He
hopes
h
the photos will inspire people
to save the planets most endangered
animals.
a
Taken by kids like you, these My Shot

pics showcase the types of animals that

Sartore is trying to photograph. You
can participate too!
Take a safari to a zoo, or go on
a backwoods vacation. Then see
how many animals you can find!
Upload your best photos to
ngkidsmyshot.com and tag them
m
with #PhotoArk to earn a badgee.

Ooh PixieDustPhotos

osbyme
Orangutan Phot

Baby Panda BitsnPieces

FAMOUS PHOTO!
Giraffe seahorse555555559

Asian Beetle redwoodhearts

Lil Prairie Dog

34

ericasgottalent

SEPTEMBER 2016

This My Shot pic was recently featured at the officia

of Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Bidenl residence
to submit your own photo that could be displayed . Go online
there too!

ngkidsmyshot.com

VP

W ld
KeepThEeseaarre soth
me of
g pictures
Joel Sartores amazin
t.
from his Photo Ark projec

tigerstr ipe
Cheetah Cubs emily

Coast Zoo, Georgi

Bengal Tiger Alabama Gulf

Flamingo wispofadream

Chimpanzee Lowry Park Zoo

, Florida
piraphoto
Mother and Daughter ins

Answers
What in the World? (page 30):
Top row: rug, soccer net, ravioli.
Middle row: checkerboard, waffle, tiles.
Bottom row: tablecloth, building, hopscotch court.
Bonus: a nice cube

Hills Wildlife Adventure

Veiled Chameleon Rolling

GET MORE !

, Kansas

atgeokids.com/photo-ark

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS

35

Grand Adventure (pages 2829):

2015 Pepperidge Farm, Incorporated.

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