National-Geographic-Kids-June-July-2017

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JUNE / JULY 2017
“talk”
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Executive Vice President, Kids and Family FREECCOALRLDESCITNOSIRD’ES! 14
Melina Gerosa Bellows
20 The Lost City of Pompeii The Secret
Vice President, Content Will the volcano that buried this Language
Jennifer Emmett ancient civilization blow again? of Dolphins

Editor in Chief and Vice President, Kids Magazines & Digital These “chatty” animals
Rachel Buchholz are giving people a lot
to talk about.
Vice President, Visual Identity
Eva Absher-Schantz 35 Cool Things About Space
Launch into extraordinary facts about
Design Director, Magazines Eileen O’Tousa-Crowson
our universe. 22
Editorial Andrea Silen, Senior Editor / Digital Producer;
Kay Boatner, Senior Editor / Digital Producer; Wildlife Killers Busted 24

Allyson Shaw, Associate Editor / Digital Producer Discover the cool science behind
solving wildlife mysteries.
Art Kathryn Robbins, Senior Designer
Photo Shannon Hibberd, Senior Photo Editor The Truth Behind the New Movie
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie
Production Sean Philpotts, Director Find out how this flick stacks up to reality.
26
Digital Laura Goertzel, Director; Departments
Natalie Jones, Senior Product Manager;
4 Weird But True! 8 Sports Funnies 11 Bet You Didn’t Know
Tirzah Weiskotten, Video Manager
5 Guinness World Records 9 Incredible Animal Friends 12 Amazing Animals
Administration Michelle Tyler, Editorial Assistant
6 Wild Vacation 10 Extreme Weirdness 28 Fun Stuff
PUBLISHED BY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PARTNERS, LLC
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Please recycle.

BY MARILYN TERRELL

outrageous facts.

Elephants TOR THE MOST THE

can be left- or NADOES WORLD’S
right-tusked, just as HAPPEN TALLEST
IN MAY.
people are left- TREE
or right-handed.
IS

379.1

FEET TALL,

Thomas AS HIGH AS
Jefferson
188
was the first
president to serve SCHOOL DESKS
french fries in the STACKED UP.

White House. A frog uses its WIN THE BOOK!

AND eyeballs TRY ONLINE MAY 25-JUNE 1.

OUSANDS” to natgeokids.com/june-july
help
IN it

EAT BRITAIN. swallow.
4 JUNE / JULY 2017
JONATHAN HALLING / NG STAFF (ELEPHANT, ANT, SPRINKLES, FROG); STOCKFOOD GMBH / ALAMY STOCK
PHOTO (FRENCH FRIES); ERIC NGUYEN / JIM REED PHOTOGRAPHY / GETTY IMAGES (TORNADO); CORBIS
SUPER RF / ALAMY (PENGUIN); PHIL SCHERMEISTER / NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE (TREE)

GuinnessordsASSTTTOHORENIFEIISSLHFEIRSNOOGMF

DOGWORLD’S

SMALLEST

Milly the Chihuahua may
be small, but she has a
big appetite. The pooch,
who’s the shortest dog
by height on record,
refuses to eat anything
other than food cooked
by humans—her favorites
are chicken and salmon.
Just 3.8 inches tall at the
shoulders, Milly is about
as high as a cell phone.
When she was born she
weighed less than an
ounce and could fit in
a teaspoon.

RICH DESSERT

This better be one yummy after-dinner treat. At
$25,000, it holds the record for the most expensive
dessert. The Frrrozen Haute Chocolate (haute
means high-class, not hot) is a slushy mix of the
world’s most expensive cocoas, milk, and edible
gold. If you need a souvenir, you can take home
the spoon: It’s made of 18-carat gold and studded
with white, black, and chocolate-colored diamonds.

GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS (MILLY, GUM WRAPPERS); REUTERS / CHIP EAST (DESSERT). MILES OF
INFORMATION PROVIDED BY © 2017 GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS LIMITED.
GUM WRAPPERS

It’s the ultimate upcycling project: Instead of throwing
away his gum wrappers, Gary Duschl has been folding them
together for more than 50 years, creating a gum wrapper
chain that stretches nearly 17 miles, the longest on record.
So far the chain has more than 2.1 million wrappers linked
together, and Duschl keeps adding. He doesn’t chew all the
gum himself—many wrappers were donated.

5

BY JAMIE KIFFEL-ALCHEH

COOL THINGS
ABOUT INDIA

Chutes and Ladders,
a popular board

game, originated in
ancient India.

High Up Over 700 India produces
Hotel languages are more movies
spoken here. than any other
GREEN MAGIC
NATURE RESORT country.

WHERE Vythiri, India sleep
HOW MUCH About $220 a night here!
WHY IT’S COOL Riding a pulley-operated
lift 86 feet to your treetop room is just
the start of your adventure. As you look
out your open window—there’s no
glass!—you spy monkeys and birds in the
rain forest canopy. Later you might test
your fear of heights by crossing the
handmade rope bridge to the main part
of the hotel, or just sit on your bamboo
bed and read. You don’t even have to
come down for breakfast—the hotel will
send it up on the pulley-drawn “elevator.”

elevator
takes
you up

THINGS TO DO IN Watch a camel beauty Stroll through the streets Visit the Taj Mahal, a mausoleum Go on safari and spot wild
contest at the annual of Jodhpur, a city in which (or tomb) in Agra built to house tigers, sloth bears, and
INDIA Pushkar Fair, a cattle- many of the houses are the remains of an emperor’s crocodiles in Ranthambore
trading event in Pushkar. painted blue. favorite wife. National Park.

6 JUNE / JULY 2017 HORNBIL IMAGES / ALAMY (BOTH)

NEEDS YOU

SEE WHERE
ROCKETS LAUNCH

MEET AN
ASTRONAUT

LEARN WHAT’S
NEXT FOR NASA

sports uh-oh! i’m going
to hold my
funnie 2 breath until
they give me
1
a gold
don’ t look medal.
at me. i have
something in

my teeth.

Uruguay’s Diego Forlán covers his face with his jersey after missing Yang Wei of China competes in gymnastics at the
a goal during a 2008 FIFA World Cup soccer match in Uruguay. 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

3 whoa. i
where do know that
you think
you’re guy in
going? seat 15F.

4

Ireland’s Padraig Harrington chases a ball during a practice Johan Gaume of France practices a snowboarding jump before a
round for the 2008 British Open golf championship. 2008 winter sports and music festival in London, England.

8 JUNE / JULY 2017 ANDRES CUENCA / REUTERS (1); AMY SANCETTA / ASSOCIATED PRESS (2);
RUSSELL CHEYNE / REUTERS (3); KEVIN COOMBS / REUTERS (4)

Incredible BYKAITGALLAGHER

Animal Friends

GOOSE GUARDS BULL i love ya,
byouturi tchoinakt

needs
washing.

Gisborne, New Zealand

A big Highland bull like Hamish probably doesn’t need a bodyguard, but this goose disagrees. Whenever

the bull is grazing in the pasture, the goose watches for cattle that—in the bird’s opinion—get way

too close. “Then the goose will stretch out his neck, shriek, and chase the other cows and bulls away,”
says Kees Weytsmans, owner of the Knapdale Eco Lodge where the two live.

Hamish and the goose have been inseparable for 10 years—ever since the bird was found resting

on Hamish’s leg a week after the bull was born. Since then, the goose has rarely left Hamish’s side. DOMESTIC GOOSE
Weytsmans once moved Hamish to another rancher’s pasture for a few nights. But one evening
apart was all the goose could stand. “The next afternoon the goose traveled all by himself to the ORIGIN Europe and Asia

REBECCA GRUNWELL / THE GISBORNE HERALD (BOTH) other pasture to find Hamish,” he says. And though Hamish doesn’t seem as eager for friendship as WEIGHT 5 to 10 pounds

the goose, the bull doesn’t mind his bodyguard. Otherwise, this bull would ruffle some feathers! CLAIM TO FAME The
goose is thought to be

one of the first animals

to be domesticated, prob-

ably in Egypt about 3,000
years ago.

FUN TO KNOW The wing-

span of a domestic goose

can be six feet wide.

HIGHLAND BULL step
away
ORIGIN Scotland; these from the
bulls were brought to Aus- bull!
tralia(near New Zealand)
by Scottish immigrants 9

WEIGHT 1,500 to 1,800
pounds

CLAIM TO FAME
Highland cattle grow two
coats of hair. The coarse
outer layer protects the
animals from wind and
rain, and the soft bottom
layer keeps them warm.

FUN TO KNOW Experts
think Highland cattle have
been around since the
sixth century.

T EME from BY AMANDA SANDLIN
WEIRDNESS
AROUND We’d like
weird- meter to see them
th WORLD high-five each
Blue COZY CLUCKERS SOUTH WEST NEWS SERVICE (CHICKEN); JOSE MANUEL RIBEIRO / REUTERS (HANDS);
is so her weird-o-meter other. MARIO ARMAS / REUTERS / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (BALLOONS); TORU HANAI / REUTERS (CARS)
WHAT
color. Sweaters for hens THE HANDS GO weird-o-meter
MARCHING IN
WHERE BLINGED-OUT BENZ
Norwich, England WHAT Carnaval parade
WHERE Ovar, Portugal WHAT
DETAILS Word on DETAILS Need a Crystal-covered cars
the farm is that hand? Here are a few! WHERE Chiba, Japan
wool sweaters for Costumed paraders DETAILS Someone
chickens are all the marched down streets went a little crazy with
rage. People across to celebrate Carnaval, the glue gun. A luxury
England knitted a festival that lets auto company embel-
“woolly jumpers” for people express their lished two cars—one
rescued hens that wild side after a couple painted silver and
had lost feathers months of winter. the other gold—with
from stressful living People often meet 300,000 crystals. Each.
conditions. About and walk around in The cars, worth about
1,500 hens were fit- kooky outfits, called a million dollars apiece,
ted with sweaters of masquerading, during were on display at the
all designs—stripes, Carnaval, which lasts Tokyo Auto Salon.
bows, and even a few about a week. Pedestrians, get out
holiday themes. your sunglasses!
Honk if
weird-o-meter you love
sparkles!
VADER RULES THE SKY

WHAT Guanajuato
International Air
Balloon Festival

WHERE León, Mexico

The DETAILS This might
force is be the Rebels’ worst
strong with nightmare. Partici-
this one. pants at this festival
soared across the
sky in giant hot-air
balloons, such as this
one shaped like Darth
Vader’s mask. More
than a hundred bal-
loons fly each year—
anything from pandas
to bees to scarecrows.
But don’t worry. This
Vader’s only full of
hot air.

10 J U N E / J U LY 2 0 1 7

BY VALERIE C. CLARK

8 frogfactsto

jump into!

1 A bullfrog

named Rosie the Ribiter

traveled more than

21 feetin3 hops.

2 frAochgorucsaofllscan

be heardmore

thana mile away.

3 Certain 4 It rained frogs 5 Two frogs
got married
frogs can in Kansas City, Missouri,
produce in India ata
more than after strong winds
eggs200,000 sucked uptheanimals traditional ceremony

ina andthendropped attended
lifetime. them from the sky.
by 2,000
guests.

DENNIS FRATES / ALAMY 6 leap7 Somefrogs A species

Frogs have been found can offrog in

in 25-million-year-old morethan 20 Borneo oozes
fossilizedtree resin timestheir
yellow
calledamber. body length. goo ifyou

pick one up.

11N A T I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C K I D S

FTOHLELOHWEIRNDG WHO
WANTS
1 TO PLAY
“We are DOUBLES?
so bored.”

2 3

“Yahoo!!!!” “Hey, guys!
Same place
next week!”

DOG OWL Baltimore,
Maryland
RICHLAND, SOUTHAMPTON, Police may know
WASHINGTON ENGLAND how to arrest
criminals, but
BISON these officers were
scratching their heads when they had to capture some odd fugi-
BALTIMORE, tives: a herd of bison! Nine woolly animals escaped from a farm
MARYLAND early one morning and invaded a nearby neighborhood. Police
arrived to find the massive mammals shuffling across front lawns
12 J U N E / J U LY 2 0 1 7 as startled homeowners looked on. Linking hands to form
a human chain, the officers herded the animals onto an empty
tennis court. Some bison even started leaping over the net!
“For such big animals, they moved pretty gracefully,” Officer
Shawn Vinson says. Finally, police officers and local farmhands
guided the bison into an animal trailer using deck chairs and
mesh fencing. Why did they roam in the first place? “One of them
probably got out,” Vinson says. “And the rest just followed!”

AP / WIDE WORLD (BISON, 1); STEVE RUARK / ASSOCIATED PRESS (BISON, 2); ASSOCIATED
PRESS (BISON, 3); CHRIS BALCOMBE / REX USA (OWLS); CHASE JARVIS (FAITH)

“OWL” BY AMANDA PRESSNER
ALWAYS
LOVE THESE

GUYS.

NEST BEST THING

Southampton, England
Snowy the owl may be a stuffed animal, but her “adopted” babies
sure give a hoot about her! After five tawny owl chicks were found
orphaned, rescuers at the New Forest Otter, Owl, and Wildlife Park
placed them with the cuddly toy to help the babies feel more com-
fortable. At first the chicks were afraid of the large white bird. But
when animal manager John Crooks warmed Snowy on the radiator,
the chicks crawled under her wings to take advantage of her “body
heat.” After several months, the chicks were ready to leave the
nest. What happened to dear old stuffed mom? “She was a bit messy
from all the babies,” Crooks says. So Snowy took her own trip—to the
washing machine!

otwhelhctbehwhrrihiecutciksssbhh’ksaTmieecobbsrkoyefsfu,eaooaatekophbdfd,e.oeanvmansegdaatliehnest HELLO,
THiS iS

DOG
SPEAKiNG.

SPEED-DIALING DOG

Richland, Washington

Faith the Rottweiler sure has a nose for handling emergencies—

the four-year-old service dog used her snout to call 911 after

her physically disabled owner became unconscious! “I was in

the kitchen when I passed out and hit my head,” owner Leana

Beasley says. “Most helper dogs need a command to do what

Faith did, but she put the clues together and went for the

phone.” Just as she was trained to do, the pooch used her

snout to knock the special phone off the hook and press a

button to speed dial 911. Then Faith barked into the handset.

“The dispatcher could tell that this call was no mistake,”

Beasley says. “She could hear the urgency in Faith’s bark.” An

ambulance arrived, and Beasley was rushed to the hospital. “A

lot of people wouldn’t have known what to do,” Beasley

says. “Faith did—and I’m eternally grateful.” Faith

used a strap
to pull open the
lefrtoinntedmoeorrgaenndcy

workers.

13N A T I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C K I D S

WANT TO
HAVE SOME

FUN?

LET’S
PLAY!

BACK OFF,
BUD!

The Secret

DolphınLanguageof
BY CRISPIN BOYER

14 J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 1 7

LET’S
CHASE
BUBBLES!

ns PLAYING
UPSIDE DOWN
© AUGUSTO STANZANI / ARDEA (BIG PICTURE); © TOM & PAT LEESON / IS AWESOME!
ARDEA (UPPER INSET); © BRANDON COLE / ALAMY (LOWER INSET)
Here’s a conversation worth talking about:
A mother dolphin chats with her baby … over
the telephone! The special call was made in
an aquarium in Hawaii, where the mother and her two-
year-old calf swam in separate tanks connected by a
special underwater audio link. The two dolphins began
squawking and chirping to each other—distinctive
dolphin chatter.

CRACKING THE CODE

“It seemed clear that they knew who they were talking
with,” says Don White, whose Project Delphis ran the
experiment. “Information was passing back and forth
pretty quickly.” But what were they saying? That’s what
scientists are trying to find out by studying wild and
captive dolphins all over the world to decipher their
secret language. They haven’t completely cracked the
code yet, but they’re listening … and learning.

15

CHATTY MAMMALS hoOstuypilbrmyoeo.mueetTdtspIchfloiaoeacyusfntosl’of2dswuas0aiseswmwbtmdeomiaoirmulseleetparsaahf.ntaoinnua,r

In many ways, you’re just like the more than 30 species of TOSS ME
dolphins that swim in the world’s oceans and rivers. Dolphins A TREAT!
are mammals, like you are, and must swim to the surface
to breathe air. Just as you might, they team up in pods, or cdoomDmopilnepathneicnfeso.r
groups, to accomplish tasks. And they’re smart.

They also talk to each other. Starting from birth, dolphins
squawk, whistle, click, and squeak. “Sometimes one dolphin
will vocalize and then another will seem to answer,” says Sara
Waller, who studies bottlenose dolphins off the California
coast. “And sometimes members of a pod vocalize in different
patterns at the same time, much like many people chattering
at a party.” And just as you gesture and change facial expres-
sions as you talk, dolphins communicate nonverbally through
body postures, jaw claps, bubble blowing, and fin caresses.

THINKING DOLPHIN

Scientists think dolphins “talk” about everything from basic
facts like their age to their emotional state. “I speculate that
they say things like ‘Good fish are over here,’ or ‘Watch out for
that shark because he’s hunting,’” says Denise Herzing, who
studies dolphins in the Bahamas.

When the going gets tough, for instance, some dolphins
call for backup. After being bullied by a duo of bottlenose
dolphins, one spotted dolphin returned to the scene the next
day with a few pals to chase and harass one of the bully bottle-
nose dolphins. “It’s as if the spotted dolphin communicated to
his buddies that he needed their help, then led them in search
of this guy,” says Herzing, who watched the scuffle.

LANGUAGE LESSONS

Kathleen Dudzinski, director of the Dolphin Communi-
cation Project, has listened to dolphins for more than
17 years, using high-tech gear to record and analyze
every nuance of their language. But she says she’s far
from speaking “dolphin” yet. Part of the reason is the
elusiveness of the animals. Dolphins are very fast
swimmers that can stay underwater for up to 10
minutes between breaths. “It’s like studying
an iceberg, because they spend most of their
lives underwater,” Dudzinski says.

Deciphering “dolphin speak” is also tricky
because their language is so dependent on what they’re doing,
whether they’re playing, fighting, or going after tasty fish. It’s
no different for humans. Think about when you raise a hand to
say hello. Under other circumstances, the same gesture can
mean goodbye, stop, or that something costs five bucks. It’s
the same for dolphins. During fights, for example, dolphins clap
their jaws to say “Back off!” But they jaw clap while playing too,
as if to show who’s king of the underwater playground.

“I have not found one particular dolphin behavior that
means the same thing every time you see it,” Dudzinski says.
“If you like mysteries and detective work, then this is the
job for you.” And who knows—maybe someday you’ll get a
phone call from a dolphin.

16 J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 1 7

PLAY KRILL

SMACKDOWN

natgeokids.com
/june-july

Dolphin 12 2
Digits miles: months:

5 to 20: distance time before
high- a baby dolphin
individual Over 4: Over is born that a
dolphins in frequency 30: mother might
an average types of whistles can start “singing” to
vocalizations nonverbal
pod dolphins use travel behaviors her unborn
(These include (for instance calf
squawks, whis- tail slapping or
tles, clicks, and rubbing fins)
dolphins use to
squeaks.) communicate

© FLIP NICKLIN / MINDEN PICTURES (BIG PICTURE); © DOUG PERRINE / SEAPICS.COM (UPPER INSET); SEAPICS (LOWER INSET). 17N A T I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C K I D S
© ANUP SHAH / NPL / MINDEN PICTURES (LION, PAGES 18-19)

Female lions often do most of the hunting for the pride. Lions rest about 20 hours a day. A lion cub can’t roar until it’s about

two years old. These big cats don’t chew—they gulp their meals in chunks. Lions can communicate by swishing their tails.

THPE LOOSMT CPITEYIOFI
Whetnhiws ialnl tchieenvtoclicvainliozatthioatnbbulorwieadgain?
TODAY MILLIONS OF TOURISTS

VISIT THE RUINS OF POMPEII, BY KRISTAIRNTBBAYIRMDORNADTOTLIINTIHIC STUDIOS
INCLUDING THE FORUM, BELOW.

AUGUST 24, A.D. 79 will happen. More than three million people people took shelter in their homes. But
live near the volcano, in the modern-day the debris kept falling. Piles grew as deep
A deafening boom roars through city of Naples, Italy. Correctly predicting as nine feet in some places, blocking door-
Pompeii’s crowded marketplace. when the eruption will take place will make ways and caving in roofs.
The ground shakes violently, the difference between life and death.
throwing the midday shoppers Around midnight, the first of four
off balance and toppling stands of THE SKY IS FALLING searing-hot clouds, or surges, of ash,
fish and meat. People start screaming and pumice, rock, and toxic gas rushed down
pointing toward Mount Vesuvius, a massive Through excavations that started in 1748 the mountainside. Traveling toward
volcano that rises above the bustling city, and continue to this day, scientists have Pompeii at up to 180 miles an hour, it
located in what is now southern Italy. been able to re-create almost exactly what scorched everything in its path. Around
happened in Pompeii on that terrible day. 7 a.m., 18 hours after the eruption, the
Vesuvius had been silent for nearly last fiery surge buried the city.
2,000 years, but it roared back to life, “The thick ash turned everything black,”
shooting ash and smoke some 20 miles into Pompeii expert Andrew Wallace-Hadrill says. LOST AND FOUND
the air. Almost overnight, the city and most “People couldn’t see the sun. All the land-
of its residents vanished under a blanket of marks disappeared. They didn’t have the Visiting the ruins of Pompeii today is like
ash and lava. foggiest idea which way they were going.” going back in time. The layers of ash actu-
ally helped preserve buildings, artwork,
Now, almost 2,000 years later, scientists Some people ran for their lives, clutch- and even the forms of bodies. “It gives you
agree that Vesuvius is overdue for another ing their valuable coins and jewelry. Other
major eruption—but no one knows when it

20 J U N E / J U LY 2 0 1 7 VACCLAV / DREAMSTIME (RUINS); © ROGER RESSMEYER / CORBIS / VCG / GETTY IMAGES (CAST); MARTIN WALZ (MAP)

WHICH

HISTORIC
CIVILIZATION

ARE YOU?

natgeokids.com/june-july

THIS ARTIST’S CONCEPT RE-CREATES
THE FORUM AT POMPEII AS IT
LOOKED THE DAY OF THE ERUPTION
IN A.D. 79. THE FORUM WAS THE
CENTER OF PUBLIC LIFE.

the feeling you can reach out and touch the WARNING SIGNS CREEPY CASTS R O PE
ancient world,” Wallace-Hadrill says. ITALY
Pompeii may be ancient history, but Volcanic ash settled E U
There are kitchens with pots left on the there’s little doubt that disaster will around many of the
stove and bakeries with loaves of bread— strike again. Luckily people living near victims at the moment AFRICA
now turned to charcoal—still in the ovens. Vesuvius today will likely receive evacua- of death. When the
Narrow corridors lead to magnificent man- tion warnings before the volcano blows. bodies decayed, L
sions with elaborate gardens and fountains. holes remained A
Mosaics, or designs made out of tiles, deco- Scientists are closely monitoring inside the solid IT
rate the walls and floors. Some houses even Vesuvius for shifts in the ground, earth- ash. Scientists
have mosaics of guard dogs with “Beware quakes, and rising levels of certain gases, poured plaster Rome Y
of dog” written in Latin, the language of which could be signs of an upcoming into the holes to
the Pompeians. eruption. The Italian government is also preserve the shapes Naples Vesuvius
working on a plan to help people of the victims. Pompeii
Ancient graffiti, including love notes flee the area in an emergency.
and other messages, is carved into build-
ings. Some graffiti even lists the results of It’s a shame Pompeians
gladiator matches at the amphitheater— didn’t know what we now know
an ancient outdoor arena—where trained about volcanoes. They could
fighters once battled to the death. have lived on to tell the story
of the city that was lost in time.

21

3

1 Saturn has a moon that’s Some of the ashes
of Gene Roddenberry,
bigger than MERCURY. who created the television
show Star Trek,
2 Many of the 4,000
ASTEROIDS that travel were sent into SPACE.

through space on the same 31 THE HOTTEST PART
path as Jupiter are named
after Greeks and Trojans who OF THE SUN IS ITS CORE, WHICH IS ABOUT
fought in the Trojan War. 27 MILLION DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.

3 Saturn,
Jupiter,

Uranus,
and Neptune

all have rings.

4 If it twinkles,

it’s probably a star—
not a planet.

5 THE SURFACE OF THE
MOON IS SMALLER THAN ASIA.

6 On average, 32 PLUTO used to be

astronauts SLEEP two considered one of the major planets
in our solar system, but in
hours less than normal each 2006 it was reclassified
night while they’re in space. as a dwarf planet.

7 ABOUT 95 PERCENT OF 11 MOST PLANETS 12 Our galaxy is 13 Astronauts 33 ASTRONAUTS GET
THE STUFF IN THE IN THE UNIVERSE speeding toward the drink TWO TO THREE INCHES

UNIVERSE IS INVISIBLE. PROBABLY HAVE WATER— ANDROMEDA GALAXY RECYCLED TALLER WHILE LIVING
BUT NOT AS A LIQUID. at 186 miles a second. URINE.
8 Two satellites AT THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION.
collided in space
14 CONDITIONS ON VENUS HAVE
for the first time in 2008.
crushed or melted
9 The largest comets
come from the outer edge MANY SPACECRAFT THAT HAVE
of our solar system— LANDED ON THE PLANET.

more than 80 BILLION

miles from the sun.

10 Astronomers think there’s a

MONSTER BLACK
HOLE at the center of

the Milky Way—and that it
has eaten other black holes.

22 J U N E / J U LY 2 0 1 7

BY STEPHEN ORNES

ABOUTSPACE 29 The coin used

in the COIN
TOSS at the 2010

Super Bowl had been taken
to space months earlier.

28 EARTH’S MOON

IS BIGGER THAN PLUTO.

34 When scientists 35 Scientists 27 The first space tourist
launch a rocket,
intentionally paid $20 million
they have to watch
CRASHED for his trip.
20,000out for about
pieces of large a spacecraft 26 The Russian space
space junk into the moon station Mir RECYCLED THE
(and 500,000 SWEAT of cosmonauts.
more tiny pieces). to look for
water. 25 If you’re 12 years old

on Earth, then you’d be

about 6 on Mars and
almost 50 on Mercury.

24 During a space walk
in 2008, an astronaut

accidentally lost a bag
of tools worth

about $100,000.

23 IN JULY 2009, A SMALL

ASTEROID OR COMET

SMASHED INTO JUPITER

SO HARD THAT YOU COULD
SEE THE IMPACT FROM

EARTH(WITH A TELESCOPE).

CHECK OUT 22 When satellites
BOOK!
CRASH together, their

broken pieces stay in orbit
around Earth.

21 MORE THAN 400
planets HAVE BEEN

DISCOVERED IN OUR
GALAXY, AND ASTRONOMERS
THINK HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS

MORE ARE OUT THERE.

20 Venus and Uranus spin in

the OPPOSITE direction

from the other planets
in our solar system.

19 GALAXIES
COLLIDE,

MAKING BIGGER GALAXIES.

15 The winds on one distant planet 16 ASTRONOMERS THINK 17 One volcano on 18 IF YOU COMPARE THE
THAT THE MOON WAS FORMED AGE OF THE UNIVERSE TO
are so fast that on Earth they could Mars is more than three
blow from San Francisco, California, WHEN A MARS-SIZE OBJECT times as tall as ONE DAY, AND IT’S NOW
Mount Everest. 11:59 P.M., THEN EARTH WAS
to New York City in 30 MINUTES. SMASHED INTO THE EARTH. FORMED AT ABOUT 4 P.M.,
AND PEOPLE SHOWED UP

ABOUT 28 SECONDS AGO.

B & M PRODUCTIONS / GETTY IMAGES (BACKGROUND); NASA / JPL / STSCI (3); MARV SMITH / NASA (29); PARAMOUNT PICTURES / THE KOBAL 23N A T I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C K I D S
COLLECTION (30); NASA JPL-CALTECH (31); NASA, ESA AND M. BUIE (SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE) (32); NASA (33, 34, 35)

The cool science behind solving wildlife mysteries

BY KRISTIN BAIRD RATTINI CR IME SCENE EVIDENCE

Astray bullet. A single fingerprint. A drop of FINGERPRINT
blood. Like detectives, scientists examine
the evidence left behind at crime scenes STOCKBYTE / GETTY IMAGES (HANDCUFFS, MICROSCOPE); © MARK RAYCROFT / MINDEN PICTURES (ELK);
to help solve mysteries. But the scientists DAVID MCGLYNN / TAXI / GETTY IMAGES (FINGERPRINT); SIEDE PREIS / GETTY IMAGES (BULLET); © THEO
working at the National Fish and Wildlife Service’s
(FWS) Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon, are ALLOFS / MINDEN PICTURES (TIGER); © ALASKA STOCK / ALAMY (FOX); OTMAR THORMANN / NORDIC
different: They use cutting-edge technology to help PHOTOS / GETTY IMAGES (MEATBALLS); © PURESTOCK / GETTY IMAGES (DNA)
solve crimes against animals. “We’re like supersleuths
for wildlife,” deputy director Ed Espinoza says. The
cases they investigate help catch the crooks who
kill animals—and make others think twice before
harming more.

THE VICTIMS: ELK
THE CRIME SCENE: COLORADO

THE EVIDENCE: FINGERPRINT

STICKY FINGERS

To passersby, the man was enjoying a campout. But he was
really illegally sneaking into reserved hunting grounds and
using a gun instead of the permitted bow and arrow to kill elk
for their prized antlers.

The hunter couldn’t move the large antler racks home during
hunting season; there were too many game wardens checking to
make sure hunters killed their game legally. Instead, he wrapped
the racks in duct tape and hid them in tree branches. He’d
return for them after hunting season.

But the suspect left something else behind. After wardens
found one of the racks, FWS lab technicians discovered a finger-
print on the duct tape. No two people have the same fingerprints.
So the scientists searched a database, which matched the print
with the suspect. They could confidently point their finger at the
hunter, who pleaded guilty and went to jail.

24 J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 1 7

CRIME SCENE EVIDENCE THE VICTIMS: TIGERS
THE CRIME SCENE: ILLINOIS
BULLET THE EVIDENCE: BULLET

SMOKING GUN

The truck rolled past the razor-wire fence
and into an abandoned warehouse. It pulled
a horse trailer, but the animals inside were
tigers bought from roadside zoos.

Two men pointed guns and shot the
endangered tigers, hoping to sell the hides,
skulls, and meat. But the suspects did a
sloppy cleanup job. When an undercover
FWS agent bought a full-body tiger-skin
rug from the ringleader, she found a bullet
in the tiger’s skull.

A gun leaves a telltale pattern of nicks
and scratches on the bullet it fires. Those
marks enable scientists to match a bullet
to a particular weapon. At the lab, scien-
tists fired a test round of bullets from
the ringleader’s gun. Using a microscope,
investigators compared the marks from
the test round to the bullet they found.
They matched. “The scientific evidence
really sealed the case,” FWS agent Tim
Santel says. The ringleader was locked
up—instead of the tigers that would
have been his next victims.

RIME SCENE EVIDENC E
E
C

MEATBALLS MICROSCOPE CRIME SCENE EVIDENC YOU CAN
HELP TOO!
DNA
Go online to get info on
THE VICTIMS: FOX, COYOTE, BIRDS Photo Ark, a project that aims
THE CRIME SCENE: IDAHO to help threatened animals.
THE EVIDENCE: DNA
natgeokids.com /photo-ark

BAD MEAT

The meatball trail stretched two miles in the snow. Any animal would
find the treats tasty—and deadly. They were poisoned with a pesticide,
and FWS agents found the bodies of a fox, coyote, and three magpies
that had died after eating the tainted meat. Based on a tip that some-
one was using poisoned meatballs to kill wolves, which were endan-
gered at the time, agents searched a man’s garage. They discovered a
blood-stained tool and a bottle containing pesticide.

A chemist identified the bottle’s contents as the same pesticide
that was in the meatballs. Agents knew that if they could prove the
man made the meatballs, they would know he also had tried to kill
endangered wolves.

A geneticist gathered DNA samples from a meatball and the tool.
Found in the body’s cells, DNA determines the traits of all living things.
And no two living things have the same DNA. The DNA samples from
the meatball and tool matched, which proved the man had made the
poisoned meatballs. The trail of evidence led straight to the killer.

25N A T I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C K I D S

THE TTRHUETNHEBWEHMIONVDIE

Captain UndeTheFirstEpicMovie

BY KAREN DE SEVE

Look out, Professor
Poopypants! Captain
Underpants is on a
mission to defeat
your evil plan to get rid
of laughter in the world.
At least, that’s what
grumpy Principal Krupp
thinks he’s doing after
he’s hypnotized into
believing he’s a super-
hero in the movie Captain

Underpants: The First Epic
Movie. Based on the book
series by Dav Pilkey,
the film is packed with
zany superpowers and
plenty of potty humor. But
how realistic are the silly
stunts in real life? Nat
Geo Kids flew behind the
scenes for answers.

STRONG MAN TAKING FLIGHT

Captain Underpants is strong enough A mysterious gooey substance—aka
to lift an entire building with one hand. lunch from the school cafeteria—gives
Ordinary humans aren’t as mighty, but the Captain Underpants the power to fly.
Allegheny mound ant can lift up to several ALLEGHENY In real life, leftovers don’t allow people
thousand times its body weight. The tiny MOUNDANT to soar. But jet-powered wings do. Pilot YVESROSSY
insects are superstrong because their bodies are so light. Yves Rossy uses his to fly to heights of 17,000 feet. The
Inside their exoskeletons, or the hard covering that protects wings get their boost from four small engines, which enable
their bodies, their muscles don’t need to provide much sup- Rossy to reach speeds of 200 miles an hour. Unlike Captain
port. They can apply their strength to lifting heavy objects. Underpants, though, Rossy takes flight fully dressed.

26 J U N E / J U LY 2 0 1 7

erp BOUT © DREAMWORKS ANIMATION (MAIN); ANDREY KUZMIN / DREAMSTIME (CURTAINS, SEATS); ALAN COTTON / DREAMSTIME (UNDERWEAR); RMARTORELLI / DREAMSTIME (CLOTHESPINS); KATRINA BROWN / DREAMSTIME (TWINE);
ERWEAR GREGORY REC / PORTLAND PRESS HERALD / GETTY IMAGES (ANT); FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP / GETTY IMAGES (YVES ROSSY); MEDUSA GRAPHICART / DREAMSTIME (BRAIN); FLUXFOTO / GETTY IMAGES (CAR OIL)

AKnliocntigesnfTootufrtEctgwlehyaaepsntabiufautnnerdripeelhidrfaewwr.eaiatohrh

Irte’sdauntordnaeNdrieptwiaonnYtesianfroI’tsraEglvyoeot.od wear
luck

A man iRmneoEcisnnotrgopdlnaasenitrdhistohloeuofrlfudo: sn1r4dap4euGr!tuptiainnnngtesosns
World

the

etNvheaentwitosonrtalaldkUeenvpdelerarycweAeuaagrrouuDsnta.dy

anSttohim-afolteaustctuuopslmetpniponcaskeenyudioenlydsdofmeirlrtaswe.kreesar

BRAINPOWER FOOD FUEL

Supervillain Professor Poopypants’s evil The same glowing cafeteria goo
plan is to zap away everyone’s hahaguffaw- that helps Captain Underpants
chuckleamalus, or the giggle-making part fly powers the enlarged mobile
of the brain. In real life, different parts toilet that Professor Poopypants
of your brain work together to make you gets around on. Some real-life
laugh. The left hemisphere, or side, of your brain figures out cars also run on food goo: french fry oil and cooking
what a joke means; the right hemisphere decides if it’s funny. grease! First the oils are filtered to remove bits of food.
If it is, the parts of your brain that control muscle movement Mix in a few more chemicals, and a car that normally
tell your body to make laughing sounds. All in a few seconds. runs on diesel fuel can zoom away on grease power.

27N A T I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C K I D S

SPLASHDOWN!

Find and circle at least 15 things that are
wrong in the scene.
JAMES YAMASAKI ANSWERS ON PAGE 32

28 J U N E / J U LY 2 0 1 7

CHECK OUT
THIS BOOK!

ROUND AND ROUND

These photographs show close-up
and faraway views of spiral-shaped
things. Unscramble the letters to
identify each picture. Bonus: Use
the highlighted letters to solve
the puzzle below. ANSWERS ON PAGE 32

IONANMNC LORL LOERRL ECRTASO IPLOPLOL

TOP ROW (LEFT TO RIGHT): WALLACE AND WYANT / GETTY IMAGES; ALEX LINGHORN / GETTY IMAGES; © PETER FRANK / CORBIS. EOLHAMCNE ITLA TEVOS ERRBUN WOLLIOHPR
MIDDLE ROW (LEFT TO RIGHT): © ALEX HYDE / NPL / MINDEN PICTURES; © EXACTOSTOCK / SUPERSTOCK; © AGE FOTOSTOCK / SUPERSTOCK.
BOTTOM ROW (LEFT TO RIGHT): CHANTAL DE BRUIJNE / SHUTTERSTOCK; NASA AND THE HUBBLE HERITAGE TEAM; © PETE OXFORD / MINDEN PICTURES. ACTASSEIR YAAXGL DELIMPELI

HINT: On your plate, it’s a pile — on your fork, it’s a spiral.

ANSWER: T

29N A T I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C K I D S

30 J U N E / J U LY 2 0 1 7 6 Seeing isn’t always believing.
5 Two of these funny signs are
not real. Can you figure out
7
which two are fake?

ANSWERS ON
PAGE 32

2

3

1

4

MATTHIAS CLAMER / GETTY IMAGES, IMAGE DIGITALLY COMPOSED (1); DA PHOTO / ALAMY (2);
ROYALTY-FREE / CORBIS (3); FRANK DIMARCO / ALAMY (4); ANNIE GRIFFITHS (5); JAMIE MANN /
ALAMY (6); J.D.S / SHUTTERSTOCK, IMAGE DIGITALLY COMPOSED (7)

Museum Mishap

BY ERIN WHITMER
Ask a friend to give you words
to fill in the blanks in this story
without showing it to him or her.
Then read out loud for a laugh.

I’ll never forget the day my school subject class took a field trip to the Museum of Natural

History. While everyone else went to the museum cafeteria, I headed for the noun shop to

buy a poster of the candy bar galaxy. By the time I got back to the cafeteria, my classmates were

nowhere in sight. I past-tense verb through the insect exhibit and passed

some adjective -looking cavemen. Then I stopped in my tracks. In front of me was the

coolest type of dinosaur skeleton I’d ever seen. Its animal body part must have

been as big as a(n) type of automobile . I was trying to dig a camera out of my backpack when

I on my and into the skeleton. With a loud
past-tense verb item of clothing past-tense verb

noise , at least big number bones clattered to the ground. That’s when I looked up

and saw my entire class verb ending in -ing at me. “ your name !” yelled.

teacher’s name

“I have a bone to pick with you.” At that moment, I was sure I was

about to become history.

MARTY BAUMANN

31N A T I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C K I D S

Sh t Junglefowl demijour

Twheerseetapkheontobgyrakpidhss Answers
like you!
“psFIliiocrrweteuwelerroearmskienasdtkopetuhsfkoaeacsduhisfu.fteTtureerrnnatinnegdfftsethcaetr.f”toecdutsofatus—trenprutohkrae “Splashdown!” (page 28):

Cartwheel photos4china “What in the World?” (page 29):
Top row: cinnamon roll, roller coaster,
lollipop. Middle row: chameleon tail,
stove burner, whirlpool. Bottom row:
staircase, galaxy, millipede.
Bonus: spaghetti
“Signs of the Times” (page 30):
Signs 1 and 7 are fake.

Flight froot

Very Green Frog ReganC Palm Sunset brown.eyed.girl

Elsa byrdsong Perfection poison dart frog
Cghliaovruesdhyyosdhuaaryds?ouwHbesje.acdtoauntseidveen! Olvigehrtcawstitshkoieust
Water Mirror CatsAndDogsRule14
32 J U N E / J U LY 2 0 1 7

Giv2SAee7epwa.gaeewsoamye!

TELL US
FEBRUAR

WHAT YOU

THINK!

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Throughout the year we’ll invite you by email to complete our latest
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At Squirrel X
one
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ANIMAL JAM IDEAS Fort Myers, Florida

In the virtual world of Animal Jam, what Zebra T
creature would you be? Nat Geo Kids readers Madylin N., 10
imagined new characters for this digital game. Whiteland, Indiana

Flamingo T

IRsoalbeeslvleillMe,.,N1o2rth Carolina

Python X

Shea K., 13
Durango, Colorado

Happy-Hearted Sea Creature T

Grace C., 13 raw your
Dillon, Montana
dream job.
Silly Spider X
Send us your original drawings:
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P.O. Box 98002
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Include your name, address, phone
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become the property of National
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Awesome Animals!

MEERKAT

TEXT BY RUTH A. MUSGRAVE COPYRIGHT © 2017 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PARTNERS, LLC

MEERKAT

A A meerkat is merely a cat.
FALSE. It’s a member of the mongoose
family, and its relatives include civets,
genets, and fossas, not cats.
Meerkats have different calls to

B warn about different kinds of

predators.
TRUE. For example, if a meerkat spots
an eagle, it gives one kind of alarm call. If
it sees a snake slithering nearby, its alarm
sounds different.

C They’re excellent divers.
TRUE. They dive into their burrow’s
access holes to escape predators.

D Meerkats are fat-free.
TRUE. Meerkats don’t store fat, so these
mammals must eat every day.
You don’t need to bother cooking for

E your meerkat friend—just send her

to the garden to eat grubs.
TRUE. She’ll also devour spiders, crickets,
centipedes, millipedes, and scorpions.

© MARGUERITE SMITS VAN OYEN /
NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY

Awesome Animals!

DUBENARD’S LUNA MOTH

DUBENARD’S LUNA MOTH

A Dubernard’s luna moth might

A rest on Lincoln’s nose at Mount

Rushmore in South Dakota.

FALSE. This species of luna moth lives in
parts of China, Laos, and Vietnam.

B If you’re hosting their family
reunion, rent a gigantic room.

TRUE. Their family includes about 1,500

species, including giant silk moths, royal

moths, and emperor moths.

C Luna moth caterpillars eat night-
blooming flowers.

FALSE. They eat leaves of trees and
shrubs.

D Luna moths stuff themselves silly
as adults.

FALSE. Their mouthparts don’t even
work. Since they live only about a week,
they live on fat they stored when they
were caterpillars.

E They love the nightlife.
TRUE. They’re active at night and rest
during the day.

© ROBERT THOMPSON / NHPA / PHOTOSHOT

Awesome Animals!

BLACK-TAILED JACKRABBIT

BLACK-TAILED JACKRABBIT

A A black-tailed jackrabbit is a kind

of hare, and hares are not rabbits.

TRUE. Hares are born with fur and with

their eyes open, and can run within min-
utes. Rabbits are born naked and with their

eyes closed, and can’t run for many days.

B If a man had a jackrabbit’s ears, they
would be about as long as your arm.

TRUE. Those big ears help a hare

regulate body temperature and listen

for predators.

C A black-tailed jackrabbit is too
slow for your baseball team.

FALSE. No need for it to slide home from

third—it’s just a few hops away.

D Jackrabbits can outrun any predator.
FALSE. They’re fast, but coyotes, foxes,

bobcats, owls, and other predators still

can catch them.

E A newborn hare weighs as much
as a baseball.

FALSE. It would take at least two baby

hares to equal one baseball.

© TIM FITZHARRIS

Awesome Animals!

GRAY KANGAROO

GRAY KANGAROO

A This ’roo would be the most valuable

player on your football team.

TRUE. At 30 miles an hour, it’d make it

from the 50-yard line to the end zone in
less than five seconds.

B Kangaroos rely on their speed to
catch food.

FALSE. They eat grass—you can’t get
slower than that.

C A gray kangaroo is the real Bigfoot.
TRUE. With 18-inch-long feet, it would

need shoes twice as long as most men’s.
It’s no wonder scientists call them macro-

pods, which means “big feet.”

D Male kangaroos are called boomers.
TRUE. Females are called does and babies
are joeys.

E Moving at top speed, a kangaroo
tires quickly.

FALSE. Due to its body design, the faster
it moves, the less energy it uses.

© FRANS LANTING / NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE

Awesome Animals!

LUNA LIONFISH

LUNA LIONFISH

A The lionfish’s beauty advertises it
as a deadly beast.

TRUE. Venomous spines on the fins keep

predators away. A sting causes excruciat-
ing pain to people too. So stay away!

B It sweeps up for dinner.
TRUE. The fluttering fins sweep prey

into a corner or startle fish, crabs, and
shrimp from hiding places. The lionfish

sucks in and swallows prey whole.

C Lionfish are found in Japan.
TRUE. They’re also found in warmer
waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

D A luna lionfish is as long as this card.
FALSE. Its body is as long as this

magazine, and its fin-span is as wide
as an open copy.

If you’re having a lionfish over

E for dinner, three shrimp will be

enough.

FALSE. A lionfish may eat more than 10

shrimp a day. But let it serve itself so you

can stay away from the venomous spines.

© NORBERT WU / MINDEN PICTURES

Awesome Animals!

AFRICAN WILD DOG

AFRICAN WILD DOG

A Do not wear your antelope costume
in African wild dog territory.

TRUE. Though secretive and shy, their
reputation as fierce hunters is real. They
prefer medium-size hoofed animals such
as antelopes, impalas, and gazelles.

B Wild dogs are more successful
hunters than lions.

TRUE. African wild dogs catch their
prey about 70 percent of the time. Lions
succeed less than half that often.

C African wild dogs have something
in common with snowflakes.

TRUE. Just as no two snowflakes are

alike, no two African wild dogs have

exactly the same pattern of spots.

D Young dogs eat last.
False. Unlike many predators, the
young animals along on the hunt are
allowed to eat first.

E Wild dogs prefer fresh meat.
TRUE. No begging for leftovers or table
scraps by these dogs!

© ANDY ROUSE / NHPA / PHOTOSHOT