Very Interesting Junior (April-May 2019)

interesting WIN BIG
brain entertainment
HOW
VERY
YOUR OWN
AR DINO
IS A
NEWBORN
NEW
EDITION 09 PANDA? p.2







growing young minds, testing your knowledge Gladiators,

emperors and
flamingos?
Bring a TRICERATOPS

TO LIFE

Make it walk
off the page p.11
THE
COLOSSEUM! p. 22
BURNING
QUESTIONS
ANSWERED
• Can frogs vomit?
• Why is air invisible?
• How much of my cereal
box gets recycled?
• What happens in my
body when I am
hungry?








Augmented DINOSAUR!

Reality




LAND AHOY! photosynthesis to solve the WIN
Can we turbocharge
The search for
food crisis? p.40 SHAZAM! movie
hampers worth
mythical islands p.16 R3,500
VOL 02 ISSUE 09 2019 APR/MAY Price R37.90 | €4.00 | £3.00 SADC countries: R32.96 (Excl. TAX) PLUS










Meet 5
Jack Dylan
infamous pirates p.20 Q&A with
Grazer p.30



interesting EDITION 09
brain entertainment
VERY
THIS ISSUE’S HIGHLIGHTS ON ONE PAGE
test your knowledge, grow your mind
WHEN IN ROME
PUBLISHER
Urs Honegger We end our Seven Wonders
EDITOR series on a high note with
Deanne Dudley the Colosseum p. 22
SENIOR SUB-EDITOR
Vanessa Koekemoer
SUB-EDITORS
Nicolette Els
Noleen Fourie
OPERATIONS AND PRODUCTION
MANAGER
Paul Kotze
SENIOR DESIGNER
Annie Fraser
TRAFFIC AND PRODUCTION
Juanita Pattenden
ADVERTISING THAT’S
Lalique Lemberger 011 468 2090, [email protected] AMAZING! FARMING IN
SALES MANAGER
Gillian Johnston [email protected] THE FUTURE
How the
SUBSCRIPTIONS Kariba Dam Why turbo-charging photosynthesis
www.coolmags.co.za
[email protected], 011 468 2090 was built, may be the answer p. 40
FINANCE [email protected] and the
legends that
DISTRIBUTION Republican News Agency surround it
ISSN 9112-0003
p. 36
PRINTERS

VI Junior is published alternate monthly; six issues per annum. All rights reserved.
Reproduction of this magazine in whole or in part is prohibited without prior written
permission of Panorama Media Corp (Pty) Ltd. Copyright © 1997-2019 Panorama
Media Corp (Pty) Ltd. The views expressed in VI Junior are not necessarily those
of Panorama Media Corp and the acceptance and publication of editorial and
advertising matter in VI Junior does not imply any endorsement or warranty CARRI-ON
in respect of goods or services therein described, whether by VI Junior or the
publishers. VI Junior will not be held responsible for the safe return of unsolicited Why we need to
editorial contributions. The Editor reserves the right to edit material submitted and
in appropriate cases to translate into another language. VI Junior reserves the right conserve the often-
to reject any advertising or editorial material, which may not suit the standard of the misunderstood
publication, without reason given.
The publisher, editor and contributors of VI Junior accept no responsibility for any vulture p. 38
action taken by any reader based on their consideration of articles or opinions
published in the magazine.
Portions of this magazine first appeared in Very Interesting Magazine.
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media corp


PUBLISHED BY Panorama Media Corp (Pty) Ltd.
Private Bag X4, Kyalami, 1684, South Africa.
92 Campolino Road, Kyalami.
Tel: 011 468 2090 Fax: 011 468 2091/2
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Competition disclaimer
These rules apply to all competitions and giveaways in VI Junior: Plus
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cash. 4: The judges’ decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into. 5: Panorama • Which animal has the biggest baby?
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published, will be forfeited. Prizes returned by the post office as unclaimed will be forfeited.





Quickies Random facts for
fun!



















HOW STRONG

IS AN ANT?
Asian weaver ants are
super strong. They can
carry 500mg, which
is around 100x their
body weight. They
do have a
superpower that
really helps though
– the self-cleaning
sticky pads on their
feet, which have 20%
amazing grip and allow
them to balance their
load even when The estimated percentage of South Africans who experience
upside down! a depressive disorder at least once in their lifetime.
















The Glasgow Coma Scale is used to help
doctors determine a patient’s degree of
consciousness by measuring eye movement
and motor and verbal responses.


189,000kg




The weight of the CC17 cargo plane that Kevin Fast
pulled, breaking the record for heaviest aircraft
pulled by a human.










4

Quickies


HOW MUCH OF A

CEREAL BOX IS REUSED

WHEN RECYCLED?
Pretty much all of it. Cereal
boxes are made from
paperboard and most are
already made from recycled
materials. At the recycling
plant, the paperboard is
mixed with water and broken
down into a pulp, then
washed and filtered to
remove inks, coatings and
other contaminants. After
that, your humble box of
Otees could end up as
WHY IS AIR INVISIBLE? soundproofing material,
insulation or even pet
Air is made up of mostly nitrogen and oxygen molecules bedding.
that are spread too thinly to affect light noticeably. It can’t
change light’s colour or intensity. Despite this, in very hot
weather, air’s presence is revealed through the shimmering
effect called ‘heat haze’. This is caused by the heat
creating changes in the density of the air, which in turn
affects the way we see it.

1,500
ARE OUR EYES
GETTING WORSE? The estimated number of
Well, our eyesight definitely is. malaria cases reported in the
Short-sightedness (myopia) is on US every year.
the rise, with the figures in the US
soaring to a third of the population.
Even worse though is Taiwan,
where around 90% of adults now
need to wear corrective lenses.
Why? Experts blame the increase
in time spent indoors looking at
close objects, like screens.
It is thought that the Sphinx, in
Egypt, was built during the reign
DID YOU KNOW? of Khafre (2558-2532BC).
If you missed our article on
screen time, be sure to order
a back copy of #7 by emailing
[email protected].






















5







Human body

...I FEEL


HUNGRY?






Your tummy is growling… it’s almost lunch time, and Sadly, four children
die per day in
you’re staaaaarving! What exactly is your body doing South Africa due to
severe acute
to make you feel this way? malnutrition.
Salivary
glands


PANCREAS
Oesophagus When your usual
mealtime approaches,
your pancreas
secretes insulin to
prepare itself for an
expected intake of
sugar. This causes
your blood glucose
level to dip.





Stomach

BLOOD
Levels of important
nutrients in your
blood (like
glucose, amino
Pancreas
acids and fatty
acids) are at their
lowest
concentration
when you are
hungry.
Large
intestine




BRAIN

Hunger makes you
impulsive (hangry!)
and reduces your
ability to make
long-term decisions.
This is why you should
never shop on an
empty stomach (and
you should probably
avoid people who
annoy you too!).





9 9

NOTHING TO




SNIFF AT!

























A dog’s sense
of smell is
100,000 better
than a human’s.






220



million



The number of olfactory (smell)
receptors a dog has in his nose (humans
have a pitiful 5 million).



DID YOU KNOW?
For more cool
A dog can use his nostrils
separately. How does this help
him? He can use one to detect a dogs, get your
facts about
scent and the other to work out
its location.
hands on
Animaltalk

Magazine now!






3 EASY WAYS TO


coolmags.com • 011 468 2090
SUBSCRIBE [email protected]







Augmented reality




Make a dinosaur come to life






The Triceratops is, perhaps, one of the most
well-known dinosaurs in the world. Make one walk
HOW DO I DO THIS?
around using Augmented Reality.


Download the free DIGITAL MAGIC AR app from
www.apple.com/itunes or www.playgoogle.
com/store/apps and launch it on your
mobile device.
ACTIVATE THE APP



Tap the "Activate" button on the Home
Screen to open your AR scanner.


Scan this page with your device to activate
the thumb scanner. Scan your thumb to
unlock your dinosaur tracker.


Turn the page and use the app by
hovering it over the icons. They look
like this. This will bring your Triceratops
to life! © 2019 Universal Studios. Jurassic
World: Fallen Kingdom is a trademark and
copyright of Universal Studios and Amblin
Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

STANDARD SYSTEM REQUIREMENT
• Apple devices running iOS 9 and above: iPhone 5s and above; iPad 4 and above; iPod touch 6th Gen. or above.
• Android devices with a rear-facing camera using Android 4.0 and above, and ARMv7 NEON processors.
• INTEL ATOM based devices are not fully supported.







WIN!






This awesome extract is courtesy Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Raptor Rescue. To
see more awesome dinosaurs, get the book at leading book retailers, or enter now to
win one of five copies! To enter, tell us what your favourite dinosaur is and why! Email
your answer to [email protected] and include your name, age, daytime delivery
address and daytime contact number. Entries close 15 April 2019.

14





History

























The Curse of Oak Island is a TV
series on the History Channel
about the search for the hidden
treasure. It’s been going since
OAK ISLAND: Blackbeard to the jewels of 2014 and is busy filming its
French queen, Marie Antionette.
sixth season.
THE TREASURE A rumour also started that the first seven
treasure seekers had to die before the eighth would
TROVE find the treasure… so far six have perished in the quest.
TELL ME MORE! It’s cold, flat and boring and can be found in the DID THE TREASURE REALLY EXIST? Well, considering that people
Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the Canadian Peninsula of Nova have been trying to find it for centuries and they haven’t turned up
Scotia. But people claim that it is home to a huge treasure trove. anything, we doubt it, especially with today’s technology. Critics say
Dozens of people, including ex-US presidents and film stars, have that the hole is in fact part of a natural sinkhole and nothing special
been there to search the island, to no avail. at all.

WHAT MYSTERIES SURROUND IT? A man found a strange hole in ANY RECENT DEVELOPMENTS? Since 2010 treasure
the ground of Oak Island in 1795. He dug into the ground and hunters have had to apply for permission to
found a layer of flat stones, pick-axes and a layer of planks. search the island. The makers of a TV series
Doesn’t sound like much to go on to us, but it started a lifelong from the History Channel were granted
obsession for him, and after that, for others. That ‘money pit’ has permission and managed to find one
now been dug to around 55m deep. People also dug new holes. Spanish coin from the 17th Century. It may be true, or not, but
Then more. The frenzy was fuelled by rumours of what could be either way it has reignited the hopes of people who believe in
buried there – from the pirate treasures of Captain Kidd or the treasure of Oak Island.





THULE: stories about Thule being home to dwarves or magical,
malformed people.
THE ELUSIVE ISLAND DID IT REALLY EXIST? It’s hard to say. Back before the world
was properly mapped, many mythical islands ‘existed’.
TELL ME MORE! Thule doesn’t exist. For centuries people insisted it As far as Thule is concerned, historians say that
could be found somewhere in the northern part of the Atlantic Pytheas probably meant Norway.
Ocean, on the edge of the Old World that Europeans knew before
America was discovered. It was referred to until the early 1900s and ANY RECENT DEVELOPMENTS? An author called Joanna
even appeared on some maps. Kavenna brought out a book in 2005 in which
she writes about her travels to all the places
WHAT MYSTERIES SURROUND IT? Thule was first mentioned by that could have been Thule. She concluded
the Greek Pytheas during his expeditions between 300 and 320BC. that Thule was everywhere and nowhere. The
At first, it seemed he was talking about the British islands, or an name still crops up, especially in Greenland. In
island just north of that. But with each new discovery, Thule’s fact, the American Air Force base in Greenland is called
supposed location moved further and further the Thule Air Base.
north. Many myths surrounded it – such as the Norway is one of the happiest
nations in the world, according
to the World Happiness Report.
They came out tops in 2017
and second in 2018.
17













Animal

THE AMAZING



DID YOU OCTOPUS
KNOW?
The sizes of various octopus
species vary. The smallest, Octopus They are graceful, but strong. Ugly, but fascinating. TENTACLES
wolfi, is only 2.5cm long and weighs
less than a gram. The massive giant
Pacific octopus, however, reaches
Learn more about this unique underwater wonder
5m and 50kg (though the
VS ARMS
record-setter for this species
Octopuses actually have
was MUCH larger).
arms, not tentacles. Squid
have eight arms plus two
tentacles. The difference? An
arm has suckers all over,
while the tentacles only have
suckers at the end.



DID YOU KNOW?
The octopus has a fantastic
sense of touch and can
even use the
receptors on their
suckers to taste
what they are
touching.









WHAT IS THE KRAKEN? WHY DOES AN OCTOPUS
The Kraken is a fictitious sea monster from
Scandinavian folklore that could take down ships HAVE MORE THAN
easily. This fearsome creature terrified sailors and ONE HEART?
has been written about extensively, even making They have three! All the more to love you
appearances in many films. Experts, however, reckon with… Jokes aside, they all perform an
that the myth arose from sightings of giant squid, important function. One pumps blood
some of which can reach up to 14m long. And we around the body and the other two pump
know how fishermen like to exaggerate the size of the blood to the gills. The reason they need so
sea creatures they find! many probably has to do with their unique
In 2016 at the National Aquarium
of New Zealand, an octopus type of blood. Octopuses (and some
squeezed out of its tank and tarantulas, scorpions and horseshoe crabs
dashed into a drainpipe. Luckily SQUID VS just FYI) have copper-rich blood. That
for the eight-legged escape OCTOPUS means that it looks blue, but also that it is a
artist, the drain led directly to the The easiest way to tell an bit less efficient at transporting oxygen. The
three hearts help by pumping blood at a
sea. Sounds like a scene from octopus from a squid is simply to higher pressure around the body.
Finding Dory but what is certain look at its shape. While the
is that, because octopuses have octopus has a round head and
no bones, they can squeeze soft body, the squid has a
themselves into tiny spaces! long, thin body, with a stiff
‘spine’ called a pen.


.
.

.
24







Quickies Random facts for
fun!
















SAY NO TO 1948

SEXTING The year the Frisbee was invented
by Walter Frederick Morrison.
In a worrying study done by Northwestern When he passed away at age 90 in
University in the US, more than 92% of young 2010, it is rumoured his family
girls felt that they were pressured into had his ashes set into a Frisbee.
sending nude pictures of themselves. The
reasons they sent them were to please a boy
or because they didn’t want a boy to be upset
with them – not because they wanted to. They
found that boys were four times more likely
than girls to request nude pics and that many
were getting them by threatening to end a
relationship or threatening to send previous
ones they had received to their friends.
Just a side note here – sending nudes is never
a good idea no matter if you’re a girl or a boy.
Firstly, it is illegal and secondly, you never
know where those pics can end up (they may
be your boyfriend or girlfriend today, but what
if it ends badly and they show their friends, or
worse, your mom or teacher!). We are not
here to preach, but seriously – think it
through before you even take that pic!






SMURFTASTIC!


The world’s first hot air
balloon flight was taken
by a sheep, a rooster
German friends who were and a duck.
Smurf superfans had a dream…
to break the world record for the
largest number of Smurfs gathered in
one place. Now, as we know, Smurfs
aren’t real, so these are actually grown
people who paint themselves blue and dress
in Smurf gear. Ahem… Anyway, three years
ago, they tried to break the record
gathering by Welsh students, who
managed to get 2,510 Smurf people
together in 2009. They fell short by a few
hundred. But did they let that get them
down? Did they feel blue? No!
They decided to try again – and
10 years after the Welsh
record was set, it was finally
broken by 2,762 blue-
painted people.
28



Prizes
































SHAZAM! © 2018 WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC. Photo Credit: Steve Wilkie/ & (c) DC Comics












THERE’S A NEW HERO IN TOWN!


What happens when an ancient wizard turns an ordinary 14-year-old kid 
into a superhero? Catch it on the big
screen from the
5 of April!
th

The new superhero movie, Shazam!, is Why is Freddy the perfect superhero sidekick?
out at cinemas this April and we got to Jack Dylan Grazer… and mentor, and sensei. Because he’s an aficionado
chat to Jack Dylan Grazer about his role extraordinaire of them all. He knows it all. He can tell you every fact
as Freddy, BFF to Billy (aka Shazam). about Superman right off the top of his head. Freddy doesn’t have a lot,
so that’s kind of like his fantasy, to live vicariously through these heroes,
A BIT ABOUT JACK AND I guess. That’s why he loves him.
THE MOVIE What do you think it is about Billy that Freddy immediately
Jack rose to fame with his role in the super scary connects with?
movie adaptation of Stephen King’s It, a Well, first because Freddy is excited about having a new friend. He
terrifying story about a killer clown. In Shazam!, doesn’t have a lot of them – he has no friends actually. And he has an
the 15-year-old plays Freddy Freeman, who lives inkling that Billy has a story to tell, and he wants to know his story. And
in the same foster home as Billy Batson. One then when he finds out that Billy is a superhero, he’s dumbfounded and
day, Billy is given an awesome power by an is like, “I want to be even more involved and help you out and figure this
ancient wizard. Whenever he utters the word journey out with you.”
‘Shazam!’ he turns into a godlike superhero. But
even though he may look like a hero, he’s still a Could Billy – as Shazam – have made that journey without Freddy?
14-year-old kid on the inside. That’s where No, he would have definitely freaked out!
Freddy comes in – he must help his new foster
brother to become the hero he appears to be. So what do you think it is about Freddy, just in his nature, that puts
And luckily for Billy, Freddy is the biggest Billy the most at ease when he gets to the house? Because he’s not
superhero fan of all! interested in becoming part of this family or all of these kids.

30

Prizes

Freddy’s got charisma. He’s really kindhearted. He’s funny, he’s got a
really great sense of humour. And he’s really entertaining to listen to. And
he’s really smart and witty and quick. He’s just a really good person to be
around. He’s uplifting. And, if you wanted to learn some stuff about
superheroes, he’s the man.

It’s rumoured that the biggest kid on set was the biggest person on
set: Zachary Levi. You have most of your scenes together, so how did
you create that dynamic between Freddy and Shazam?
We share a pretty good dynamic together. He’s a really great actor to work
alongside. He’s a really great friend, really fun. I love him. He’s so funny.
He was always coming on set with his music – he’s got a whole playlist
and it’s a really good one, and he makes everybody smile and dance and WIN
laugh. He’s just such a fun light on set. Such a beautiful person. I was
really lucky working with him.
Do you think he was definitely the perfect actor to play Shazam?
Perfect, I mean, the casting could not have been better. He is
phenomenal, and he was perfect, because he is a 14-year-old in a
however-old-he-is body.

He had to do a lot of stunts, and Freddy, of course, is right there
along with him. Was it fun to play the guy egging him on while he’s
taking all the hits?
Yeah. Freddy’s like the coach, saying “Go on, get out there!” I’m like the
ring guy in a boxing match, just giving him the water. But I’m a little more
helpful than that. WITH SHAZAM!
During production on Shazam!, what did you do with your downtime? We have 3 Shazam! movie
Oh, I don’t have downtime. I have school. That’s my downtime. merchandise hampers up for
grabs, worth R1,200 each!
You’re part of the Stephen King world, and now you’re part of the DC
world. What does that feel like for you? How do you take that in? Each hamper contains:
I sometimes can’t believe it. It happened so fast. And it’s hard for my brain • Lenticular buttons
to adapt to it. I’m still like a 15-year-old kid and I’m just living my dream • Glow-in-the-dark lapel pin
and I’m going with the flow. But this is what I love to do so I can’t imagine • Phone and wallet stand
what I would be doing if I didn’t have this in my life. I’m so lucky. It’s really • Float pen
cool being a part of the DCU because I grew up idolising the DC universe. • Reversible beanie hat
And to be a part of that now is just insane. It’s incredible. • Cape
• Messenger bag
What do you hope audiences will experience when they see Shazam!? • Bluetooth ear buds
I think they’re going to be blown away. It’s hard to match what the fandom • Black LED light-up t-shirt
anticipates sometimes, because if you’re making an adaptation of
anything that was originally a fan-favourite thing, like It for example, it’s
kind of scary to anticipate how the fans will receive it and take it in, and
hopefully enjoy it. It was nerve-wracking because they read the book and
they’re like, “Wow, this is amazing.” They see the mini-series and they’re
like “Wow, that scared me so much as a kid.” It was received well, and I
feel the same will happen with Shazam!




HOW
TO ENTER:
Tell us which super power
you would most like to have!
Send your answer to vijunior@
panorama.co.za with the words
‘VI Junior Shazam’ in the subject
line. Be sure to include your
name, age and daytime
contact numbers. Entries
close 31 May 2019.




31

Little 5 series

SMALL FIVE






PART 2
MEET THE










These tiny, shy little buck are hard to spot. The smallest in the duiker family, they
mostly hide on the outskirts of forests





WHAT IS A BLUE
DUIKER?
The smallest buck in southern Africa. At just 4kg,
he’s teeny tiny, with females being slightly larger
than males (around 4.7kg). These little fellows
have a blue-grey coloured coat and have thin
little legs, and short, sharp horns. They feed on
leaves, flowers and fruit and live throughout
southern Africa, from the Eastern Cape right up
into West Africa.
























The name duiker
comes from the
Afrikaans word
‘duik’, which
means to dive.












32

Little 5 series







10cm




The length of a blue duiker’s tail.


4,5kg

The average weight of a blue duiker.

1789


THIS IS MY The year the blue duiker was first described
HOUSE! by Swedish naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg.
Little as they are, blue duikers are
pretty territorial. They pair up and
mark their home range using gland 12
secretions. They live on the edges of The number of subspecies that exist.
forests and need the cover of the
trees for protection because they are
often hunted by large birds of prey.
The blue duiker is 210 days
diurnal, which
means he is active The gestation period of a blue duiker (how
during the day. long a female is pregnant).


400g


The average weight of a newborn.
SO SMALL!
If a fully-grown blue duikers are just 4kg,
imagine how little a baby is! Born at
around 400g, you’re very unlikely to see
one. This is because they remain hidden
for the first few weeks after they are born.
This baby phase, however, doesn’t last
long, and after around a year they are
considered fully grown and are kicked
out by their parents (nice, hey!?). The blue duiker is the
second in our ‘Small Five’
series. In #8 we found out more
about the African pangolin. If you’d
like a back copy, email
[email protected]. Next
issue, we meet the leopard
tortoise!

THE LITTLE 5
The Big Five get a lot of attention and everyone is keen to spot them when
game viewing. But there are a number of smaller, less obvious choices out there
– and ones we don’t know enough about. So join us for our very own Very Interesting
Junior Small Five! If you have an animal, bird, fish or reptile you think should make
the list, email us at [email protected] and get it featured in the magazine.
33

A rhino horn is made up of keratin,
Animals

which is a substance that can be DID YOU

found in hair and fi ngernails.


KNOW?

A baby puffin is
called a
puffling! How
cute!








AMAZING





The shrimp’s
heart can be
ANIMALS
found in his
head.







EEEWWW
GROSS!
I don’t remember
eating that for
dinner!!



90%





The estimated percentage of their
time that orangutans spend in
dense trees.






DID YOU
KNOW?
Frogs and toads cannot vomit the way
humans do if they eat something bad. What
they do is way worse … they eject their entire
stomach out through their mouth, use their
legs to clean stuff off and then shove it
back in again. Check YouTube if you
don’t believe us!




34

Animals













58km/h



The speed at which a leopard
can run.









Nom, Nom,
Nom















99%
The percentage of the giant
panda’s diet that is made up of
bamboo – and they can eat up

to 12kg of it a day!






A group of
giraffes is called
a tower.














16km




The distance from which a polar
bear can smell prey.
35





Conservation WHY ARE



96%
VULTURES
The decline in the number of
common vultures in India in the Their make-up and feeding behaviour make
IMPORTANT?
last decade.
them responsible for keeping the ecosystem in
balance by getting rid of decaying carcasses.
This doesn’t only mean that the carcass will be
gone (which means less insects and less spread of
diseases), but it also has bigger effects – like allowing
nutrients to return to the soil. That, in turn, has a positive
effect on the nutrient cycle, which influences the
biodiversity of a system. Without vultures, environments
and ecosystems could collapse.
SPECIAL











Vultures are sometimes misunderstood, but
they are fascinating birds, with a vitally
important role to play


























1



The average number of eggs a
vulture lays per year, meaning
every chick is important.
Vultures are doting parents and
30 male and female appear to
share rearing duties. Despite
minutes Vultures actually aren’t that fab this, some 90% of vultures never
The length of time it could at flying. Luckily, they are make it to adulthood.
take a group of vultures to masters at taking advantage of
clean a zebra carcass. air pockets, allowing the heavy
birds to soar high up into the air.

38

Conservation



6km




The approximate distance from which a vulture
can spot a carcass while up in the air. That’s
because a vulture’s vision is eight times better

DID YOU KNOW? than a human’s.
The vulture’s tongue has grooves
that allow him to swallow lots of
meat very quickly. Much of this
meat is then stored in a crop (a
pouch in their oesophagus).
SCAVENGERS






61%

of vulture deaths in
Africa are due to poisoning.

HOW BAD IS THE
SITUATION?

African vultures have declined by up to 90%. Many
species of vulture have been added to the
Endangered Species lists. Experts warn that some
species, like the African white-backed vulture, DID YOU
could become extinct within the next 20 years. KNOW?
Here in SA, the Cape vulture (our only endemic*
vulture species) has only around 4,200 breeding Vultures are often
pairs left. What is killing them? Well, for one, classified into two
poison. Some poachers lace carcasses with poison groups: old world
to get rid of vultures, because they could give away (Africa, Asia and
their position. One elephant carcass can, in this way, Europe) and new
kill hundreds of vultures. Another threat is from the world (the
muti medicine trade. Vulture heads and feet are believed Americas).
to bring luck. Another huge threat is power lines – which
they either collide with or are electrocuted by.
*Endemic means that this species can only be found in
this area.




3m Most vultures have bald heads.

The wingspan of the Andean condor. One reason for this is that it
wouldn’t be hygienic to have a lot
of feathers or fluff on them, or
else bits of dead animal would
stick to them. Gross!


Information courtesy of
VulPro. For more on their
conservation work,
visit  www.vulpro.com.



39

Engineering
FARMING











A famine crisis is looming. Can supercharging plants help?
















hile sitting at
Wthe breakfast
table, munching your toast, you
may feel far-removed from the
processes that got that bread into the
stores and, as a result, onto your
plate. But the reality is that we
simply don’t have enough food
for the amount of people
on Earth…













































40

Engineering

FOR FUTURE




THE







WHAT’S THE DEAL
TODAY?
We are facing a similar crisis. The UN
Food and Agriculture Organisation
reckons we are going to need around
70% more food by 2050. At the rate
we are currently producing food,
IT’S This is according to Stephen Long,
we’re simply not going to manage.
HAPPENED director of the RIPE Project, which is
BEFORE…
hoping to bring about a Green
Revolution of its own using new
In the middle of the 20th Century
most of the world was running out of
food. It looked disastrous. The population techniques, by engineering crops to
make them more efficient.
was growing too fast for the amount of
food we were able to produce. But then we
were saved… the ‘Green Revolution’
brought with it new techniques (like
irrigation, hybridised seeds and
human-made fertilisers) that
rescued the food supply.












































41









XXXXuzzles
P

TEST YOURSELF





Train your brain by challenging
yourself with these tricky puzzles








SUDOKU


Fill in the blank squares so
that each row, column and
3x3 block contains the
numbers one through nine.



COLOUR IN!
Did you know that the peacock is the
national bird of India?





















19. Atlantis, 21. NASA, 24. Myopia
11. Gladiatrix, 12. Pancreas, 13. Zambia, 14. Bonny, 16. Poison,
2. Endemic, 3. Rats, 4. Diurnal, 5. Pompeii, 6. New Zealand, 10. Oak,
Down:
27. Sheep, 28. Cartographer























46 Titus, 22. Vagus, 23. Melon, 24. Moai, 25. Tower, 26. Sugar, Giraffe, 14. Blackbeard, 15. Malaria, 17. Bubonic, 18. Norway, 20. 1. Keratin, 5. Photosynthesis, 7. Frisbee, 8. Snake, 9. Puffin, 11. Across: CROSSWORD: ANSWERS

Puzzles




CROSSWORD

Make sure you’ve read the
whole magazine before you
complete this puzzle – the
answers can be found in
the articles.

































VOCAB BUILDER






Not meant to be taken
seriously or literally.








Across: Down: If you have puzzles
1. The substance found in rhino horns. 2. A word used to describe something that can only be found in a you’d like to send in,
5. The process whereby plants convert sunlight into food. certain area (like the Cape Vulture). please email them to
7. This toy was invented by Walter Frederick Morrison. 3. These creatures helped spread the Bubonic plague. [email protected]!
8. The Nyami Nyami has the head of a fish and the body of a ___________. 4. The term used to describe an animal who is awake during the day. We’d love to give
9. Their babies are called pufflings. 5. The disaster that was caused by the eruption of Mt Vesuvius. them a try!
11. The animal whose baby is 1/10th her size. 6. The country where kiwis come from.
14. Pirate whose real name is Edward Teach. 10. The island that is rumoured to be home to a great treasure trove.
15. The mosquito-borne virus that affects 1,500 people in the US annually. 11. The name given to female gladiators.
17. The plague that was also called the ‘black death’. 12. The organ in your body that secretes insulin.
18. This European country came first in the World Happiness Report in 2017 and second in 2018. 13. One of the countries that borders on the Kariba Dam.
20. The Roman Emperor who opened the Colosseum. 14. The surname of pirate Anne.
22. The nerve that tells your brain you’re hungry. 16. Poachers use this to kill vultures.
23. The fruit that a Triceratops’ egg is the size of. 19. The mythical island that is home to Aquaman.
24. Name of the statues on Easter Island. 21. The space agency that launched the Atlantis space
25. The name given to a group of giraffes. orbiter in 1985.
26. The type of plantation Henry Morgan owned. 24. The technical term for shortsightedness.
27. One of the animals that was aboard the first hot air balloon flight.
28. The technical term for a map-maker, like Captain James Cook.
47