IN

THIS
ISSUE

Editor in Chief,
Kids and Family, Magazines and Digital
Rachel Buchholz
Senior Design Editor, Magazines Eileen O’Tousa-Crowson
Editorial Kay Boatner, Senior Editor / Digital Producer;
Allyson Shaw, Editor / Digital Producer
Photo Shannon Hibberd, Senior Photo Editor
Production Sean Philpotts, Manager
Digital Laura Goertzel, Senior Manager

12 Secrets
PUBLISHED BY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PARTNERS, LLC
EVP and General Manager
of the
David E. Miller
Editorial Director
Elephants
Nathan Lump Check out five
Managing Editor, Magazines surprising ways these
David Brindley animals show their
smart, caring nature.
Advertising Bill Graff, Entertainment Brand Manager,
bill.graff@disney.com
International Publishing Yulia Petrossian Boyle,
Vice President; Jennifer Jones, Manager; DEPARTMENTS
Leanna Lakeram, Account Manager 20 30 Cool
Finance Jeannette Swain, Director;
Tammi Colleary-Loach, Senior Manager, Rights Clearance;
Things 4 Weird
But True!
Joey Wolfkill, Senior Business Specialist About Food 5 Big Question
Consumer Marketing John MacKethan, Director, Print Chew on these
6 Guinness
Operations; Mark Viola, Senior Manager, Circulation Planning; tasty facts. World Records
Janet H. Zavrel, Manager, Circulation Planning
Manufacturing and Distribution Kristin Semeniuk, Senior 7 Bet You Didn’t Know!
Manager; James Anderson, Manager, Global Distribution;
Jennifer Hoff, Manager, Production
8 By the Numbers
Publicity Anna Kukelhaus, anna.kukelhaus@natgeo.com; 22 Gray Fox 10 Amazing Animals
Caitlin Holbrook, caitlin.holbrook@natgeo.com
Rescue 28 Fun Stuff
Discover how kind
humans saved this pup
WIN
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS (ISSN 1542-3042) is published ten times a year
by National Geographic Partners, LLC, Washington, DC 20036. For more
information contact natgeo.com/info. after a serious fall.

IT!
Periodical postage paid at Washington, DC, and additional mailing offices.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS, P.O.
Box 37545, Boone, IA 50037. Subscriptions: United States, $30.00; to
Canada, $37.00; elsewhere, $48.00; all in U.S. funds. Single copy: United
States, $6.00; to Canada, $10.00; elsewhere, $15.00; all in U.S. funds. In PAGE
Canada, Agreement number 1000010298, return undeliverable Canadian 26 Would You 27
addresses to NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS, P.O. Box 819 STN Main, Markham,
Ontario L3P 9Z9.
The submission of photographs and other material to NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
Survive in the COVER: © FERRERO-LABAT / ARDEA
(ELEPHANTS); KLEIN AND HUBERT / MINDEN

KIDS is done at the risk of the sender; NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS cannot
accept liability for loss or damage.
Age of Dinos? PICTURES (HARVEST MICE); JOEL SARTORE /
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTO ARK /
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLEC-
Take this claw-some TION (FOX). PAGE 3: ANUP SHAH / NATURE
PICTURE LIBRARY (ELEPHANTS); ROBYNRG /
quiz to find out. SHUTTERSTOCK (CAT); WILDLIFE REHABILITA-
TION CENTER OF MINNESOTA (FOX); DMX /
SUBSCRIBE TO NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS! SHUTTERSTOCK (T. REX)

CALL TOLL FREE 1–800–647–5463

MON.–FRI., 8 A.M.–9 P.M. EST, SAT., 9 A.M.–7 P.M. EST
For a subscription to NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS, send written requests—
including name, address, zip code, and payment in U.S. funds or equivalent—to
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS, P.O. BOX 37545, BOONE, IA 50037
For gift subscriptions, send giver’s name and address as well as recipient’s.
JUST FOR PARENTS E X P L O R AT I O N H A P P E N S
because of you.
For corrections and clarifications,
Copyright © 2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the
go online. natgeo.com/corrections When you read with us, you help further
whole or any part of the contents of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS without written permission
is prohibited. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS and Yellow Border: Registered Trademarks ® Marcas the work of our scientists, explorers, and
Registradas. Printed in the U.S.A. ISSUE 530 educators around the world.

Follow us on Twitter @NGKids Parents, to learn more, visit natgeo.com/info

PRINTED ON 100% PEFC-CERTIFIED PAPER—PEFC/29-31-58— and like us on Facebook.
Please recycle.
 Check out these CHECK OUT
THE BOOK!
outrageous facts.
BY JULIE BEER AND MICHELLE HARRIS

Male blue-footed
boobies do a
high-step strut
to attract
mates.

A WIND
TURBINE ONE PERSON
IN DENMARK INVENTED A While reading,
IS AS TALL SUPERFAST
you blink about
AS A POTATO PEELER
OUT OF A TOILET
72-STORY BRUSH
half as much
BUILDING. ATTACHED TO
A DRILL.
as usual.

Some squat A newborn sea otter’s fur traps in

lobsters—
a kind of crustacean—
so much air that it’s impossible for
are covered in the animal to sink.
hairlike bristles.

TUI DE ROY / MINDEN PICTURES (BLUE-FOOTED BOOBIES); DONALD M. JONES / MINDEN PICTURES (SEA OTTERS)

Roman
gladiators
consumed an
energy drink
containing ash.

Honeybees have VOLCANOES

ONCE ERUPTED
2 stomachs. ON THE MOON.

4 NAT GEO KIDS • MAY 2023

 Question BY JULIE BEER

Can
counting shee
p
help you
fall asleep?

Having trouble catching

some z’s? Maybe you’ve been
told to drink a glass of warm milk,
take a relaxing bath … or use your
imagination to count sheep as
they jump over a fence.
This odd idea might’ve started
in ancient Britain, where shep- The
herds carefully counted their ancient
flock before bedtime to make Egyptians
sure none had gone missing sometimes
mummified
during the day. But does it really sheep.
help you drift off to dreamland?
Maybe not.
Sleep researchers conducted
a study of people who have a hard
time falling asleep. They asked the
participants to either count sheep
or imagine a relaxing scene, like a
beach. Turns out, the people who
thought about something relaxing
fell asleep 20 minutes faster than
those who counted the sheep. Baa!
YVA MOMATIUK AND JOHN EASTCOTT / MINDEN
PICTURES (SHEEP); CHRISPO / ALAMY (PUPIL)

PUPIL
Sheep have
rectangular
pupils. CHECK
OUT
THE
BOOK!

5
 WHERE’S

GUINNESS MY GIANT
HAT?

WORLD
RECORDS BY KAY BOATNER

This guy walked across a

slackline strung 6,236 feet
above Brazil, in South
America—the highest
slackline walk ever. (That’s
more than twice as high as THIS MUSEUM
the world’s tallest building, RECREATION
the Burj Khalifa in the SHOWS WHAT
SCIENTISTS
United Arab Emirates.) THINK A GIANT
DEER LOOKED
Attached to a safety har- LIKE.
ness, Rafael Zugno Bridi
walked barefoot across
the slackline. The high
wire was stretched
GINORMOUS
between
two hot-
ANTLERS
air balloons, but that Whoa, deer! Skeletal

MAN might’ve been less scary

than another feat: Bridi is
also the record holder for
remains and cave paint-
ings reveal that males of
an extinct species called

WALKS
the longest slackline walk giant deer, or Irish elk,
over an active volcano! hold the record for the
largest antlers ever. From
tip to tip, their antlers
spanned 11 feet nine
IN inches—up to six times
the width of a modern

SKY
deer’s. Scientists think the
animals used their antlers
to fight other males and
attract female deer.

S - T - R - E - T - C - H LIMO
You’ll never run out of room in your car pool again. This
vehicle holds the record for the world’s longest car,
stretching a hundred feet long—or some 20 feet longer
than a blue whale. The 26-wheel vehicle, which was built
from several Cadillac cars, can seat up to 75 people.
Nicknamed “American Dream,” the car includes a water-
bed, a swimming pool, and a miniature golf course.
A helipad for landing copters is even on the roof!

6 NAT GEO KIDS • MAY 2023

RAFAEL BRIDI / GO VISUALS (BRIDI); ENCHANTED_FAIRY / SHUTTERSTOCK (GIANT DEER); © GUINNESS WORLD
RECORDS LIMITED (CAR). INFORMATION PROVIDED BY © 2023 GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS LIMITED.
 sweet facts about
animal siblings BY PAIGE TOWLER

1 Related
lion cubs 3 Scientists
sometimes think that
play-wrestle, Cascades frogs
which helps them
learn to
2 can recognize their
siblings by
hunt. Wolves scent.
feed, play
with, and even
babysit their
younger siblings.
4
A hive’s worker
honeybees
are all sisters
or half-sisters.

7
5 6 Nearly blind
at birth, baby
Barn owl Leatherback shrews form a line
siblings sometimes sea turtles behind Mom and
groom each communicate with hold on to each
other in exchange each other from other’s tails.
for food. inside their
eggs.
MARK C. ROSS / NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION MAY 2023 • NAT GEO KIDS 7
BY
the
Here’s how much a
65-pound kid would weigh
on different planets.

VENUS MARS

59
pounds
25
pounds

MERCURY EARTH JUPITER

25
pounds
65
pounds
154
pounds

8 NAT GEO KIDS • MAY 2023

 CHECK
OUT THE
BOOK!

BY JENNIFER ADRION AND OMAR NOORY

WHY
THE WEIGHT
CHANGE?
Your weight is
a measure of the pull of
gravity between you and the
planet you’re standing on. But the
force of gravity changes depending
on a planet’s mass. So if you were
on another planet, the different
SATURN force of gravity would
cause your weight

69
to change!

pounds

URANUS NEPTUNE

58
pounds
73
pounds

NASA / JPL-CALTECH (URANUS); ZERN LIEW / SHUTTERSTOCK (ALL

OTHER PLANETS); KK.KICKIN / SHUTTERSTOCK (STAR BACKGROUND) MAY 2023 • NAT GEO KIDS 9
AMAZING
ANIMALS
SIT? STAY?
Please—
I CAN DO
BETTER
THAN THAT!

Dog
Hangs
Ten ABBIE GIRL
AND OWNER
MICHAEL UY
HEAD BACK
INTO THE
WATER.
ABBIE GIRL Pacifica, California
CATCHES
WAVES ALONG- This dog really knew how to catch ... how to catch
SIDE A HUMAN
SURFER. waves, that is! For two years in a row, Abbie Girl the
Australian kelpie took the top prize at the World Dog
Surfing Championships, where she surfed the largest
and longest waves. “She nailed it in every category,”
competition judge Charly Kayle says.
Owner Michael Uy started taking Abbie Girl to the
beach after adopting her. Once the dog got used to the
water, she eventually hopped on a surfboard. “Kelpies
that work herd sheep by running across their backs,”
Uy says, noting that the breed’s natural instinct
might’ve helped Abbie balance on a surfboard. The
dog also rode a custom board that was lighter, thinner,
and soft on top so she could dig in her claws. And
nobody minded the wet dog smell!
—Aaron Sidder
 NEXT
TIME I’LL
ASK FOR
DIRECTIONS.

Pig Saves
Owner
Las Vegas, Nevada
Jordan Jones was playing outside
when suddenly a growling dog lunged
toward him. Terrified, the boy could
barely react. But just in time, Jor-
dan’s potbellied pig Dasiey jumped
in front of the dog, fending off the
angry animal.
Jordan’s mom, Kim Jones, heard
Dasiey’s squeals and ran outside.
“Jordan was just frozen, not moving,”
she says. “Dasiey was backed into a
corner but still standing up to the
dog.” At one point, Dasiey’s head
was locked in the dog’s jaws. But she

Seal Pup Mystery

refused to give up.
Jordan’s dad finally untangled
Dasiey and the dog. Jordan was fine,
as was Dasiey after a few stitches.
“If Dasiey hadn’t been there, the
dog would’ve attacked Jordan,”
Jones says. “Dasiey will always be
our hero.”
—Christina Chan
JUST
CALL ME
SUPERPIG!
Carnforth, England
The last thing anyone expected to see
in the middle of a country road was a
seal pup. But there was Ghost, two
miles away from the nearest river and
about eight miles from his ocean habi-
tat. How did the motherless youngster
get so far from home?
“You never see seals this far inland,”
wildlife rescuer Nick Green says. “I fig-
ured whoever reported the seal had
made a mistake.” Seals often hunt
upriver and got lost. But the fact that
he left the river and made the difficult
journey over land stunned rescuers.
“They feel safest in the water,” Green
says. “This was extremely unusual, and
we’ll never know the reason.”
Luckily, Ghost was healthy and
unharmed, so he was released back
into the Irish Sea less than two weeks
later. “He swam right off,” Green says.
The mystery remains unsolved, but at
MARK RALSTON / AFP / GETTY IMAGES (ABBIE, MAIN); CHRISTOPHER BRISCOE

MICHAEL, STANDING); M. SHARKEY (DASIEY); RSPCA PHOTOLIBRARY (GHOST)

(ABBIE SURFING); MICHAEL UY (ABBIE, PROFILE); CHRIS M. LEUNG (ABBIE AND
where rivers meet the sea, so one pos- least the story has a happy ending.
sibility is that Ghost swam too far —Aline Alexander Newman

DOG
Pacifica,
California

PIG
Las Vegas,
Nevada

SEAL
Carnforth,
England

MAY 2023 • NAT GEO KIDS 11

 surprising ways
these animals
show their smart,
caring nature
AFRICAN
SAVANNA
ELEPHANTS
SON SHAW
Samburu BY SCOTT ELDER AND ALLY
National Reserve,
Kenya
us.
ear-old Joshua is curio
Like all elephants, 10-y
da y, he’s stan ding ne ar Joyce Poole’s jeep in
One
in Kenya. The elephant
Amboseli National Park
l Geographic Explorer
biologist and Nationa
d tosses it to him. She
takes off her flip-flop an d—
rns arou nd to talk to another researcher an
tu
st bone whacks her on
bonk! A small wildebee re
shua thought they we
the back of the head. Jo
playing a game! ly
th ou gh Po ole ha s stu died elephants for near
Al
still surprise her. Read on
50 years, these animals
ble elephant abilities.
to discover five incredi

12 •
 2Elephants make
long-distance calls.
How many of your friends could
you identify by their voices if they
were shouting at you from around
the block? Female elephants can
recognize the calls of about a hun-
dred different extended family
members. They can even tell who’s
who from a mile and a half away.
Elephant families tend to split
up into smaller groups for days
or weeks when they travel or
search for food. Their ability
to remember each other’s
low-pitched rumbles lets
elephants keep in touch
until the next family ASIAN
ELEPHANT
reunion. But the “caller Bandhavgarh
ID” has another pur- National Park,
pose, too. India
“They’re able to
recognize who’s family,
friend, or stranger,”
Poole says. If they
hear a distant friend
calling “Where are
AFRICAN
SAVANNA you?” they’ll answer “I’m
ELEPHANTS here!” in a powerful voice.

1
Samburu
National Reserve,
Kenya

Elephants never Elephants remember

really forget. important things about
their habitat, too. For
Once, Poole made friends instance, a single elephant OPE A
with a curious wild male can devour hundreds of EUR I
named Vladimir. He would let pounds of leaves and vege- S
Poole touch his trunk and tation and guzzle 50 gallons A
tusks. Twelve years later, she of water every day. But in
returned to Vladimir’s home. the grasslands of East AF RI CA INDIA
The scientist wondered how Africa, trees are scattered
he’d react. and the land often becomes
“I called to him and he bone-dry. KENYA
came over and let me touch That’s why elephants SRI LANKA
ATLANTIC
him again,” she says.“There was there memorize where to OCEAN
no doubt in my mind that he find faraway food and water. INDIAN
remembered me—I was the And even if an old watering OCEAN
only one who ever had that hole appears dry, the clever
kind of interaction with him.” elephants know to dig a well. Where
elephants
live

13
MICHAEL NICHOLS / NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION (MAIN); © FERRERO-
LABAT / ARDEA (INSET); TONY HEALD / NPL / MINDEN PICTURES (2); MARTIN WALZ (MAP) MAY 2023 • NAT GEO KIDS
 4
Elephants
figure out
things with
their trunks.

Elephants use their

trunks to trumpet
ASIAN
loudly, saying things like
ELEPHANTS “I’m happy” or “Leave
Bandipur me alone.” But like a

3
National Park, human’s hands, trunks
India also give elephants the
ability to grab things and
handle them carefully.
It’s a sad fact: For many animal species, that they would adopt and look after
They use their trunks
Elephants when a mother dies, her offspring do calves,” Poole says.
to stuff food and water
not have anyone to care for them and What surprised her, though, was
adopt also die. But elephants are different. when she saw Tulip nursing a third
into their mouths, fling
objects, and sometimes
orphans. When a female elephant named
Tuskless died, her baby was orphaned.
calf—another orphan—that wasn’t
even part of her extended family.
get into mischief.
“Elephants outsmart
Although Tuskless’s adult daughter “They’re so caring about other
humans all the time,” says
Tulip already had a young calf of her elephants,” she says. “They’re able
George Wittemyer, a biol-
own, she adopted the youngster. to put themselves in another’s shoes,
ogist who works with the
“Because they have such close bonds so to speak, which is definitely a sign
organization Save the
and close friendships, it’s just natural of higher intelligence.”
Elephants. For example,
these animals sometimes
lift the lids on water tanks
with their trunks, then
Meet the Family Check out four types of elephants. suck them dry while peo-
ple sleep. A few have even
figured out how to turn
on a faucet to get a drink.
“It shows how intelligent
they are,” Wittemyer says.
“But unfortunately they
don’t turn the faucet off—
to the great annoyance of
AFRICAN AFRICAN AFRICAN ASIAN the people living there!”
SAVANNA DESERT FOREST ELEPHANT
ELEPHANT ELEPHANT ELEPHANT These elephants live
Around 13 feet tall A type of savanna Smaller than their in tropical forests and
and weighing up to elephant, these savanna cousins grasslands in South
seven tons, African pachyderms are also at 10 feet tall and and Southeast Asia.
savanna elephants around 13 feet tall weighing up to Weighing around
are the largest but are often thinner. five tons, forest 5.5 tons and stand-
type of elephant. They live in the elephants have tusks ing up to 9.8 feet tall,
Groups of up to Namib and Sahara that point downward, Asian elephants have
70 individuals deserts; their slightly which might help smaller ears than their
roam the plains of larger footpads keep keep them from African cousins and
sub-Saharan Africa. them from sinking getting tangled in the only one fingerlike ex-
into the sand. brush. Small family tension on their trunk,
groups live in Central which helps them grab
and West African small items. (African ASIAN
forests. elephants have two.) ELEPHANT
Minneriya
National Park,
Sri Lanka
14 NAT GEO KIDS • MAY 2023
 Trunk Tales
An elephant’s long nose is like an
extra hand—except way better. Check
out how these bendy, boneless trunks
are like an all-purpose tool.

AFRICAN
SAVANNA
ELEPHANTS
Samburu
National Reserve,
Kenya

An elephant can suck up to two

gallons of water into its trunk and
spray its body to cool down.

5
Elephants
If elephants are in trouble, their friends and
family help them.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION (5); PHOTOTRIP / ALAMY (SAVANNA); IMAGEBROKER / ALAMY (DESERT);
care for Wittemyer remembers when he and other
researchers tranquilized a female elephant in

BRENT STIRTON, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC (3); ANDY ROUSE / NPL / MINDEN PICTURES (4); MICHAEL NICHOLS /
After breaking off a branch from a

ROBERTHARDING / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (FOREST); IAN G DAGNALL / ALAMY (ASIAN); CHRIS WARE (COMIC)
the injured. order to fit her with a radio collar. “The ele- tree with its trunk, an elephant can
phant was starting to get woozy, and was use the twig like a flyswatter.
about to fall over,” he says. Other elephants
thought she was wounded and came to help.
They lifted her with their tusks and
pulled with their trunks, trying to
hold her up.
Another time, Wittemyer
saw elephant family members
visit a young female with a
broken leg every day until
she recovered. He thinks
it’s likely the injured
female would’ve died
without the compan-
ionship and assistance.
“Being a good friend
is very important to An elephant can sniff out food
elephants,” he says. that’s several miles away and water
up to 12 miles away.

MAY 2023 • NAT GEO KIDS 15

 Let’s
pretend
we’re
BUMPER

e!
CARS.

Play tim BONK!

Playtime is superfun. But it’s also

important, because playing exercises
muscles, brains, and social skills.
In fact, many wild animals play—
including elephants!
For instance, elephant biologist
Joyce Poole has seen elephants swim
upside down, twirl a piece of string
like a lasso, and kick around a
cushion like a soccer ball.
“When two elephant families
meet, the calves will often go off and
play together,” Poole says. “That
helps make new friendships between
their families.” Check out some of the
ways young elephants play.

trunk-
wrestLE
tIme! You’RE
On! Like kids, calves sometimes pre-
tend as part of their play. “I’ve seen
elephants act like an enemy is in
the grass,” Poole says. “They crash
through the bushes and then come to
a sudden stop as if standing down an
imaginary foe—even though nothing
is there!”

Some types of play help young

elephants practice skills they’ll
need as adults. For example, young
males “trunk-wrestle” and grab
each other’s feet to try to topple the
other. As grown-ups, these skills
will help them compete for mates.

Help Save
Elephants!
Elephants are threatened by
poaching, habitat loss, and
human conflict. See how you
can help these gentle giants.
 BE A CAREFUL TOURIST
When traveling, don’t support attrac-
tions that make elephants perform or
interact with tourists (like posing for
photos or offering rides). These behav-
iors are not normal for wild animals and
stress out the elephants.
 AVOID IVORY
Never buy, sell, or wear things made
of ivory, which elephant tusks are
made of. Ivory has been used to make
jewelry, billiard balls, dominoes,
piano keys, and souvenirs.

16 NAT GEO KIDS • MAY 2023

 But
FIVE your
MORE trunk Is
Just like many humans, elephant MINUTES! ALL
calves love to swim. “I’ve seen pruneD.
baby elephants spend hours
playing in water,” Poole says.
“The moms will basically say,
‘Let’s go!’ and the babies will
run to them and say ‘Uh-uh!’
and then race back to the water.
They’ll trumpet and push each
other to get in.”

... FOR
NOW.

I’M TOP
ELEPHANT!

How can you tell if

elephants are fight-
ing or just playing?
Body language.
“When elephants
play, their whole
body is very floppy
and loose,” Poole
says.

For more mind-blowing behavior,

watch Secrets of the Elephants
on National Geographic.
natgeokids.com/may

 SHOP SMART  SUPPORT

Ask your parents to look for coffee and CONSERVATION
wood products that have a seal from Host a bake sale, craft fair,
the Rainforest Alliance or the Forest or neighborhood fun run,
Stewardship Council. This means that the then donate the proceeds
products were grown in ways that pro- to an organization that
tect forest habitats where elephants live. helps save elephants.

ANUP SHAH / NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY (PRETEND); HIROYA MINAKUCHI / MINDEN PICTURES (TRUNK-WRESTLE);
DUNCAN USHER / MINDEN PICTURES (IN WATER); GERRY ELLIS / MINDEN PICTURES (IN MUD); SERGEY GORSHKOV /
MINDEN PICTURES (HELP SAVE). KLEIN AND HUBERT / MINDEN PICTURES (HARVEST MICE, PAGES 18-19) MAY 2023 • NAT GEO KIDS 17
The harvest mouse is the smallest rodent in Europe. Their long tails help the mice grab grass or twigs as they climb to
find food. Young mice often link their tails together, like BFFs. These mice build round nests that resemble a bird’s.
1 2 3 The U.S. Supreme 4
The chandelier Court ruled that a
in the Coconut Palace tomato is aveggie,
in the Philippines is made of but botanists
101 coconut shells.
say it’s a fruit. Vanilla
6 7 is used to make
The co-inventor of the
chocolate.
Human
“food technologists”
cotton candy
machine was a
taste pet chow
for companies. dentist. 8

Christopher 5 It’s considered rude

Columbus to eat anything
brought the with your fingers in
lemon Drinking coffee
first Chile—even in 17th-century Turkey
seeds french fries! was punishable by
to the
Americas. death.

11 12
9 10
A protein can Pilots and copilots Pumpkins
almost went
prevent ice cream eat different food
from melting onboard in case There are more than extinct.
quickly in a meal makes 40,000 types of rice.
hot one of them sick.
weather.
15 16
Camel milk
doesn’t
curdle.
Peanut
13
Food neophobia butter can be
Smelling converted into a
rosemary can is the
of trying
fear
new foods. diamond.
improve your
memory.
14
ROBYNRG / SHUTTERSTOCK (1); TIM UR / SHUTTERSTOCK (3); SUBBOTINA ANNA / SHUTTERSTOCK (4, FLOWER), PRETO PEROLA / SHUTTERSTOCK (4, CHOCOLATE); POLIANIN SERGEI / SHUT-
TERSTOCK (5, LEMON), GEORGIOSART / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES (5, CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS); ERMEJONCQC / SHUTTERSTOCK (6); M. UNAL OZMEN / SHUTTERSTOCK (7); © ALEXANDER

20 PLADDET / DREAMSTIME (8); SATIT SEWTIW / SHUTTERSTOCK (9); NORIKKO / SHUTTERSTOCK (10); ALL FOR YOU / SHUTTERSTOCK (11); TOPSELLER / SHUTTERSTOCK (12); VOLOSINA /
SHUTTERSTOCK (13); KWANCHAI.C / SHUTTERSTOCK (14); ANDREA WILLMORE / SHUTTERSTOCK (15); ODM / SHUTTERSTOCK (16, DIAMOND), MELICA / SHUTTERSTOCK (16, PEANUT BUTTER)
17 18 19
It can take up to
21 days gelato
You can visit a
to make a museum in Italy.
single jelly bean.

20 21
Gustatory rhinitis
is what doctors call a Asparagus stalks
If you
runny nose can grow 10 inches
caused by spicy foods. in one day.
ate
one variety
of apple a day, 22 Scientists have 23 The stringy parts 24 The peak time
you’d need
20 years
figured out how to
of a banana are for passing gas

to try them all.

unboil called phloem is 5 hours after you’ve
had lunch or dinner.
an egg. (FLO-em).

BY
KAY
BOATNER

25 26 27

A ham Some dogs’

once sold
paws smell
for $2 like corn
million. chips.
The
1904 World’s Fair
28 29 All the featured a life-size
elephant made of
cranberries
grown in North America almonds.
in one year would stretch
Red from Boston, Massachusetts,
30 A menu from the
food coloring to Los Angeles, California,
R.M.S. Titanic sold for
is often made from
crushed
and back
250 $88,000
bugs.
times. at an auction.

GET MORE FUN FACTS ABOUT FOOD!

natgeokids.com/may
PANI_ELENA / SHUTTERSTOCK (17); DIANA TALIUN / SHUTTERSTOCK (18); CHUTIMA CHAOCHAIYA / SHUTTERSTOCK (19); PANOM
PENSAWANG / SHUTTERSTOCK (20); LIGHTSPRING / SHUTTERSTOCK (21); AFRICA STUDIO / SHUTTERSTOCK (22); © TODD TAULMAN /

21
DREAMSTIME (23); JURASY / SHUTTERSTOCK (25); MAYAKOVA / SHUTTERSTOCK (26); ARTVILLE / SHUTTERSTOCK (27, CHIPS),
OKSANA2010 / SHUTTERSTOCK (27, PAW); ELIZABETH A.CUMMINGS / SHUTTERSTOCK (28); MADLEN / SHUTTERSTOCK (29) MAY 2023 • NAT GEO KIDS
 How caring people
saved this pup
after a serious fall
BY ELIZABETH HILFRANK
A six- to eight-week-old gray
FOX
fox follows his mom one
STUCK spring night as she hunts mice
HERE
and grasshoppers. As the pair
walk around the grounds of a
cathedral in St. Paul, Minnesota,
the youngster takes a tumble,
accidentally falling 15 feet down
a window well.
The tiny kit can’t climb out of
the small space around the
church’s basement window. The
THE FOX
AWAITS mama fox helplessly circles the
RESCUE hole while the youngster cries
FROM A 15-
FOOT WELL. out in distress.

22
 next tIme,
I want
beetle
flavor.

Grasshoppers,
beetles, and
butterflies are on
a gray fox’s
menu.
Gray foxes
sometimes
hang out on
tree branches.
A STAFF
MEMBER
FEEDS THE NORTH
FOX SPECIAL AMERICA
FORMULA ATLANTIC
THAT HELPS OCEAN
STARVING PACIFIC
ANIMALS. OCEAN
SOUTH
AMERICA

C A N A D A
CLOSE CALL
MINNESOTA
A few days later, the rector who lives in two workers from the Wildlife Rehab- St.Paul
the church follows the sounds until he ilitation Center of Minnesota call to
finds the kit—with no mom in sight. “I say they’ve volunteered to help save UNITED STATES

try calling every animal shelter in the ATLANTIC

this little fox. OCEAN
area,” John Ubel says. But most rescues The staff members lower a 12-foot-
are closed for the weekend. Ubel worries long ladder into the well and climb
MEXICO
that this little fox won’t survive very down. The young fox is too weak to run PACIFIC
BELIZE
HONDURAS
much longer. from them, so they easily scoop him up OCEAN
GUATEMALA NICARAGUA
Each time Ubel returns to check on in a towel. “They went straight to the EL SALVADOR VENEZUELA
the fox, the kit seems weaker. Eventually, animal hospital,” Ubel says. “That’s Where COSTA RICA COLOMBIA
PANAMA
the animal curls up in the corner of when I realized it was more serious gray foxes
live
the window well. Then on Sunday night, than I thought.”

WILDLIFE REHABILITATION CENTER OF MINNESOTA (FOX WITH SYRINGE AND FOX INSET); REV. JOHN L.
UBEL, CATHEDRAL OF SAINT PAUL (FOX STUCK IN WINDOW WELL); MARTIN WALZ (MAP) MAY 2023 • NAT GEO KIDS 23
 When
gray foxes have
extra food, they
bury it and mark
the secret spot
with urine.

These foxes THE FOX

EXPLORES
can have up ITS OUTDOOR
to seven kits ENCLOSURE
AT THE FARM.
at once.

fractured leg to a rehabilitation farm

CAREFUL CARE
At the rehabilitation center, the staff dis-
cover that the fox lost too much muscle
and fat while trapped in the well, and his
organs—like his heart and lungs—are
about to stop working. Hospital workers
can’t even detect any blood pressure.
Worse, blood work reveals that the
fox also has lead poisoning—likely
because at some point, the fox had
eaten animals that had been shot with
lead ammunition. The staff worry that
this fox won’t survive the night.
They use a syringe to feed the little
fox a special liquid meal, careful not to
give him too much food at once. They
place him in a small kennel to rest and
receive treatment. After a few days at
the hospital, the staff start to treat the
fox’s blood. For the next few weeks, they
give the fox medicine that removes lead
from his blood. This makes the animal
really tired.
“This treatment is very hard on the
patient,” says Tami Vogel, who works for
the rehab center.
THE RESCUED
FOX RETURNS
TO THE WILD.
BEST FOX FRIENDS
The fox stays at the rescue for 47 days
until he’s recovered from the poisoning
and back to a healthy weight. Plus, he’s
now snarling at rescue staff—and that’s
a good sign!
The rescuers take this fox and another
youngster that had recovered from a
nearby in Independence, Minnesota. “Our
job is to make them stronger and teach
them hunting skills,” rehabilitator Connie
LaFond says.
The two foxes settle into a large out-
door pen. They climb trees, dig dens, and
search under piles of leaves for their
meals—at first, dead mice, eggs, and
apples. A few weeks later, the pair are
pouncing on live mice.
Over the next three months, the foxes
adapt to life outside. By August, their fur
grows thick and fluffy for the coming
winter, and they always run away when
LaFond approaches. Plus, it’s the time of
year when these youngsters would be
leaving their mothers’ care. Rescuers
know it’s time to release them.
LaFond drives the two healthy foxes
to a forested area in northern
Minnesota and opens their crates.
She watches as the pair return to the
forest. “I’m not sure that they’ll stay
together,” she says. “But I like to
think they have each other as com-
panions if they want.”

24 NAT GEO KIDS • MAY 2023

CONNIE LAFOND (FOX IN OUTDOOR PEN); NANCY GIBSON (RELEASE); JOEL SARTORE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
PHOTO ARK / NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION (PHOTO ARK IMAGES, ALL)

FOX
PHOTO
SHOOT
Just before the gray fox left the
Wildlife Rehabilitation Center,
the staff called National Geo-
graphic Explorer Joel Sartore.
This photographer is on a mission
to take close-up photos of every
species living in zoos, aquariums,
and rescue centers. Hoping to
inspire people to protect animals,
Sartore has photographed nearly
14,000 species so far for his project,
called the National Geographic
Photo Ark.
Sartore lives a few hours away
in Nebraska, and he hadn’t yet
shot this subspecies—a prairie
gray fox. So rescuers asked if he’d
come take photos of the young-
ster. Sartore always photographs
his subjects on white or black
backgrounds to remove distrac-
tions in the photo to show that
each animal he photographs is
just as important as any other. He
chose to capture pictures of this
fox in a small, white photo tent.
“The fox sniffed around, then
stood in the back of the tent like he
was waiting to see what was going
to happen,” Sartore says.
Read on for more stories about
critters that Sartore has photo-
graphed at rehab and rescue
centers around the world.
THE FOX POSES FOR
PHOTOGRAPHER
JOEL SARTORE.
Plus, More
Rescued
Critters!
COMMON WOOLLY MONKEY
Cetas-IBAMA, Manaus, Brazil
“This monkey had been illegally taken
from the wild to be a pet,” Sartore
says. “They didn’t feed her the right
food, so her arms became deformed.
She can’t be released back to the wild,
but she’s thriving at this rescue center.”
EASTERN COTTONTAIL RABBIT
Wildlife Haven Rehabilitation Centre
Île des Chênes, Canada
“This baby rabbit was found without
its mom, and it wouldn’t survive the
winter without help,” he says. “After some
time and care, rehabbers released it.”
BENGAL SLOW LORIS
Endangered Primate Rescue Center
Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam
“These primates are rescued from
the illegal pet trade and brought to
live at this center, where they can be
safe from poachers,” Sartore says.
LEOPARD CATS
Angkor Centre for
Conservation of Biodiversity
Siem Reap, Cambodia
“These youngsters were found in a
burning field without their mother,”
he says. “The pair snuggled close
together in my photo tent, and they
were later released back to the wild.”
COYOTES
Nebraska Wildlife Rehab
Omaha, Nebraska
“These rescued pups
wanted to run around,
sniff, and play during the
photo shoot,” Sartore says.
“They were released at
about eight months old.”
LEARN MORE ABOUT PHOTO ARK!
natgeokids.com/photo-ark
MAY 2023 • NAT GEO KIDS 25
 CHECK IT
OUT, OF WITHOUT
COURSE. ELECTRICITY,
HOW DO YOU
SEE AT NIGHT?

SOMETHING IS
START MOVING IN THE
BUSHES NEARBY.
RUN. DUH.
HERE WHAT DO YOU DO?

CHOOSE A
YOU
DINOSAUR TO SPEND DON’T.
TIME WITH. YOU
PREFER
THE
DARK.

WOULD YOU
BRACHIOSAURUS
SURVIVE
THINGS
AREN’T
VELOCIRAPTOR
GOING
GREAT ON

IN THE AGE OF LAND. DO

YOU HEAD

DINOSAURS?
TO SEA
HONESTLY? INSTEAD?
EW.

Take this claw-some YES—IT’S

quiz to find out. IT
PROBABLY
HOW DOES PROBABLY
BY STEPHANIE WARREN DRIMMER SAFER THERE.
AND KAY BOATNER
A TERMITE- WON’T
Look out! You’ve been transported back
AND -
CRICKET
TASTE
to when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, and SANDWICH THAT BAD.
now a T. rex is coming your way. SOUND?
The age of dinosaurs started some 245
million years ago and lasted until about
66 million years ago. That’s when scien-
A MAP
tists think a huge asteroid wiped out all PICK AN
the dinosaurs on the planet. ITEM TO
Modern humans have only been TAKE WITH
around for about 200,000 years. If YOU TO THE
humans did live during dinosaur times, PAST.
they’d have to dodge deadly predators,
ride out extreme hurricanes, and escape
other prehistoric perils.
So ... would you survive in the age
CHOCOLATE!
of dinosaurs? Answer these questions
to find out.

26 NAT GEO KIDS • MAY 2023

 If these

RESULTS
descriptions do
match your pers n’t
BY BUILDING on
don’t worry. Thesality,
questions are
e

A CAMPFIRE just for fun!

WOW, YOU’VE GOT THIS.

Scary dinos … what scary dinos? T. rex, Spinosaurus,
CLIMB and other giant predatory creatures don’t spook
you. You might be much (much!) smaller than many
A TREE. dinos, but you’re also smarter. The meat-eating
Allosaurus, for example, stretched some 28 feet
in length and weighed three tons. But these dinos
A HUGE HURRICANE CAUSES were likely only as smart as dogs today. Your ability
EXTREME FLOODING AND to remain calm when face-to-face with a hungry Allosaurus
MUDSLIDES. WHAT DO YOU DO? carnivore means you’d probably last in this wild world.

YOU MIGHT MAKE IT … BUT JUST BARELY.

TAKE Maybe you’d survive in the age of the dinosaurs.
SHELTER IN But would you thrive? Nah. And that’s OK! You
wouldn’t be the only creature struggling to
AN ABOVE- avoid herds of Titanosauruses kicking up clouds
GROUND of dust with feet about as large as twin-size
CAVE. mattresses! Even sleeping would be stressful:
Many meat-eating dinos hunted at night, aided
by awesome eyesight and a keen sense of smell. Titanosaurus
Your problem-solving skills would be helpful,
NO—I’M NOT but your best bet would be to hide as much as possible.
REALLY SURE BACK AWAY.
WHAT’S IMMEDIATELY.
BELOW THE UH, YOU’RE TOAST.
SURFACE. So you’re better suited for a more modern era—so
AW! what? After all, the age of dinosaurs didn’t have
SOMEONE air conditioning or indoor plumbing—and life is
definitely better with those things. Your curious
SHOULD nature would mean you’d enjoy observing plant-
YOU SPOT A NEST OF WATCH eating herbivores like Ankylosaurus. But once you
DINO EGGS. WHAT DO OVER spotted the bony club on its tail that it probably Ankylosaurus
used to fight predators, your common sense would
YOU DO? THEM ... kick in: “Take me back to the 21st century, please!”
(And we wouldn’t blame you.)

PARENTS!
GO ONLINE FOR A CHANCE TO WIN
A DINO PRIZE PACK FOR YOUR KID.
natgeokids.com/giveaways

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Begins on 5/1/23 at

8 a.m. ET and ends on 5/8/23 at 11:59 p.m. ET or
until 5 eligible entrants are verified, whichever
A MODEL
SHOWS A is earlier. First come, first served. Open to 50 U.S./
NEST OF D.C.; 18+; with children ages 6-14. SUBMISSIONS
MAIASAURA MUST BE EMAILED BY YOUR PARENT/LEGAL
EGGS AND GUARDIAN. Void where prohibited. Sponsor:
HATCHLINGS. National Geographic Partners, LLC, 1145 17th
St., NW, Washington, DC 20036. Rules/odds:
https://natgeokids.com/giveaways

PAUL BULLEN / GETTY IMAGES (BACKGROUND); DMX / SHUTTERSTOCK (T. REX); FRANCO TEMPESTA (BRACHIOSAURUS,
TITANOSAURUS); CHRIS CLOR / GETTY IMAGES (VELOCIRAPTOR); DEFUN / GETTY IMAGES (TERMITE), EPANTHA / GETTY
IMAGES (CRICKET), SOMMAI / SHUTTERSTOCK (PLATES), MAOR GLAM / DREAMSTIME (PICNIC BLANKET), IMAGE DIGI-
TALLY COMPOSED; BAIBAZ / SHUTTERSTOCK (CHOCOLATE); LIUDMILA CHERNETSKA / GETTY IMAGES (CAMPFIRE); FO-
TOVOYAGER / GETTY IMAGES (CAVE); MARIA WACHALA / GETTY IMAGES (TREE); JAROSLAV MORAVCIK / ADOBE STOCK
(EGGS); JOE TUCCIARONE / SCIENCE SOURCE (ALLOSAURUS); ROGER HARRIS / SCIENCE SOURCE (ANKYLOSAURUS)

MAY 2023 • NAT GEO KIDS 27

 GAMES,
LAUGHS,
AND LOTS
TO DO!

STUFF
PUPPY
PLAY!

POWER!
like mini versions of
Puppies don’t always look This breed’s
me. Match these eight
the adult dogs they’ll beco spots are usually
t adult version below. black but sometimes
puppies with their correc can be brown, yellow,
ANSWERS ON PAGE 35 or blue.

5
ADULT DOGS

A German Shepherd B Pembroke Welsh Corgi C Puli D Labrador Retriever

28 NAT GEO KIDS • MAY 2023

VIVIENSTOCK / ADOBE STOCK (1); INTARAPONG / SHUTTERSTOCK (2); YULIA / ADOBE STOCK (3); HAPPY MONKEY / ADOBE STOCK (4);
DEINGEL / ADOBE STOCK (5); TSIK / SHUTTERSTOCK (6); ALEXANDRA / ADOBE STOCK (7); ANETAPICS / SHUTTERSTOCK (8)
 3 CHECK OUT
THE BOOK!

2 Native to
Germany, this
pooch got its name
from the German
word meaning
“to splash in the
water.”

6
8
This breed’s
ancestors had red-
and-white coats that
helped hunters easily
spot the dogs when
they found prey.

As it

7
gets older,
this pup’s hair
will naturally
twist as it
grows.

E Irish Setter F Poodle G Dalmatian H Yorkshire Terrier

MIKKEL BIGANDT / ADOBE STOCK (A); ZUZ / ADOBE STOCK (B); SUE / ADOBE STOCK (C); SASASTOCK / ADOBE STOCK (D);
DRAGONIKA / ADOBE STOCK (E); DISQ / ADOBE STOCK (F); RITA KOCHMARJOVA / ADOBE STOCK (G); BIRUTE VIJEIKIENE (H) MAY 2023 • NAT GEO KIDS 29
FUNNY
FILLIN
CRASH COURSE PLAY MORE FUNNY FILL-IN!
Ask a friend to give you words to fill in natgeokids.com/ffi
the blanks in this story without showing
it to him or her. Then read out loud
for a laugh. BY JILL FANSLAU

My family decided to go mini-golfing this past weekend. We grabbed the long metal and walked up
noun, plural
to the first hole. I took a big swing, aiming the ball straight for the .
adjective noun
“ !” I yelled at the top of my . The ball bounced off a(n)
silly word body part, plural color
dinosaur and went through the air. My family scrambled to hide behind the as the
verb ending in -ing noun
ball zipped past them. It hit on the top of the ,
relative’s name another body part past-tense verb
against a giant plastic , and smacked into a fake . Finally, the
food animal
ball down a and landed with a(n)
past-tense verb noun funny noise
in the pond. As the ball sank to the bottom, everyone started to .
type of liquid verb
joked that I needed putting lessons from a professional
another relative’s name noun
before we got to the hole with the mill.
adjective noun DAN SIPPLE

30 NAT GEO KIDS • MAY 2023

 Check out how Nat Geo Kids readers
responded to this poll!

22% MACHU PICCHU

IN PERU

15% T
ANGKOR WAIA
IN CAMBOD

GIZA PYRAMIDS
IN EGYPT
Which
11% landmark
would you most
like to visit?

%
(PYRAMIDS); WDG PHOTO / SHUTTERSTOCK (EIFFEL TOWER); SAIKO3P /SHUTTERSTOCK (TAJ MAHAL)
SERGIO AMITI / GETTY IMAGES (MACHU PICCHU); WITR /SHUTTERSTOCK

EIFFEL TOW
IN FRANCEER
PAKAWAT THONGCHAROEN / GETTY IMAGES (ANGKOR WAT);

14%
TAJ MAHAL
IN INDIA

MAY 2023 • NAT GEO KIDS 31

FIND THE
HIDDEN
Animals often blend in with their
ANIMALS
environment to hide. Find each
animal listed below in the pictures,
A
then write the letter of the cor-
rect photo next to each animal’s
name. ANSWERS ON PAGE TK

1. zigzag heron ____

2. goldenrod crab spider ____
3. mountain lion ____
4. lined leaf-tailed gecko ____
5. Central American
rattlesnake ____
6. Pallas’s cat ____
7. crocodile snake eel ____

D E

32 NAT GEO KIDS • MAY 2023

INGO ARNDT / MINDEN PICTURES (A); DAVID HALL / NPL / MINDEN PICTURES (B); ALEX HYDE /
NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY (C); LORRAINE BENNERY / NPL / MINDEN PICTURES (D)
 B C

F G

HINT:
Find
three!

LUCAS BUSTAMANTE / NPL / MINDEN PICTURES (E); © PAUL WILLIAMS /

NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY (F); JOHN CANCALOSI / NPL / MINDEN PICTURES (G) MAY 2023 • NAT GEO KIDS 33
BACK
TALK
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.

What do
YOU think this
brown bear cub
is thinking?

FROM THE JUNE / JULY 2022 ISSUE

How to It is hard to Let’s chill, dude!
catch fish? pat your head Luca D., 7
Think! Think! and rub your Deerfield,
Think! tummy! Illinois
Charlie P., 13 Emily C., 9
Ivoryton, Cincinnati, Do I look seal-y
Connecticut Ohio when I do this? HARBOR SEAL
INGO ARNDT / NPL / MINDEN PICTURES (BROWN BEARS);

Sean A., 14
Ahh! I can see Shepherdsville,
DO VAN DIJCK / NIS / MINDEN PICTURES (SEAL)

The sun the future … Kentucky

is in my I will get lots
eyes. of fish. I think I got some
Ty M., 9 Violet P., 11 water in my ear!
Golden, Portland, Purity H., 12
Colorado Oregon Ronan,
Montana

34 NAT GEO KIDS • MAY 2023

 “HE CAN ONLY
FIND SEVEN OF
HIS SHOES.”

“IF YOU DON’T STOP PLAYING POSSUM,

YOU’RE GOING TO MISS THE SCHOOL BUS!”

“PULL OVER, SPEEDY.”

“JOEY AND TEDDY LOVE

MY NEW HOODIE.”

1. E, 2. C, 3. A, 4. D, 5. G, 6. F, 7. B.
(pages 32-33):
“Find the Hidden Animals”
8. E.
1. D, 2. A, 3. F, 4. H, 5. G, 6. B, 7. C,
CHRIS WARE (ALL)

“Puppy Power!” (pages 28-29):

“I WISH YOU WOULD EAT LIKE Answers
ALL THE OTHER SEA OTTERS.”

MAY 2023 • NAT GEO KIDS 35

ADVERTISEMENT