Issue 109 September 2013 R28,00 (VAT incl.) Issue 109 September 2013 R28,00 (VAT incl.) 9 771811 723006 0 9 1 0 9 Proudly SA Proudly SAProudly SA LAST CHANCE TO ENTER! LAST CHANCE TO ENTER! 30 Cool Things About South Africa, Win A Gas Braai, Awesome Posters HELP US SET A GUINNESS WORLD RECORD TITLE HELP US SET A GUINNESS WORLD RECORD TITLE HELP US SET A GUINNESS WORLD RECORD TITLE HI, KiDS There are so many positive things to get involved in this month – all of which we should be doing for the rest of the year. So here is an action list of things to do. Tick as many as you can! Dare to Explore! LUCKY SUBSCRIBER LUCKY SUBSCRIBER LUCKY SUBSCRIBER LUCKY SUBSCRIBER LUCKY SUBS LUCKY SUBS LUCKY SUBS • Escape from Planet Earth (Blu-ray or DVD) • Camp chair • Sleeping bag • Two man tent • T-shirt September’s subscriber of the month is Kerrisha Dorasamy, 7, from Woodmead, Sandton. She has won* the ultimate Escape From Planet Earth branded adventure camping hamper valued at R2 500, this includes: * Terms and conditions on page 39 WRITE TO US! Send us your letters, pictures and comments. Let us know when it is your birthday. We want to hear from you! • Write to us at: The Editor, NG KIDS, PO Box 1802, Cape Town 8000. • Send an e-mail to fiona@ngkids.co.za or SMS* a letter to “NGK Letters” at 33970. * SMSs cost R1,50. Free SMSs do not apply. See www.ngkids.co.za for terms and conditions. L E T T E R O F T H E M O N T H CARIKA AND TINKA PS I’D LOVE TO KNOW WHAT YOUR FAVOURITE STORIES, COVERS AND POSTERS HAVE BEEN SO FAR THIS YEAR. D E A R F ION A I’ M CR AZY A BOUT NG KIDS! I LOVE A NIM A LS J UST A S MUCH A ND THIS M A G AZ INE IS PERFECT BEC A USE IT TE A CHES ME A BOUT A NIM A LS . I HOPE I C A N MEET Y OU SOMED AY. T HIS IS MY DOG T INK A, SHE ’ S A CROSS BETWEEN A BOERBOEL A ND A PITBULL . S HE ’ S M Y Y OUNGEST DOG , BUT THE L A RGEST . I’ D LIKE TO KNOW IF Y OU COULD DO A N ISSUE ON TIGERS . K IND REG A RDS CA RIK A B ONTHU Y S S TELLENBOSCH Ster-Kinekor Entertainment is thrilled to release kiddies DVD, Escape from Planet Earth . The new 3-D animated family film, will catapult you to planets worlds apart and is now available on DVD and Blu-ray! 1 September | Spring Day • Unscramble the flower names (page 45). • Go on a nature trail. 2 to 6 September | Arbor Week • Plant a tree. 8 September | International Literacy Day • Enter our competition to win book hampers (page 15). • Read more books. 16 to 21 September | Clean-up SA week • Get involved in a clean-up party. 20 September | National Recycling day • Get crafty with recycled material (page 46). • Help your parents with the recycling at home. 21 to 29 September | NG Great Nature Project • Turn to page 12 and enter. 24 September | Heritage Day • Read 30 cool things about SA (page 36). • Win a gas braai or a book for your parents (page 38). • Ask a friend about their cultural traditions. Pet Friends Forever 6 26 18 14 22 Poster: Humpback Whale Great Nature Project Nature’s Recyclers Click for Conservation Dare to Explore 29 36 30 Cool Things About South Africa Funny Fill-in 41 45 What In The World REGULARSREGULARSREGULARSREGULARS Conservation AwarenessConservation AwarenessConservation AwarenessConservation Awareness WINWINWINWIN Family Project 46 47 Art Zone Find the vultur e! We hid ten vultures in the magazine. Here’s one of them but can you spot all ten? i N S I D E 12 38 48 Young Chefs Competition It’s your last chance to enter! Braai Day Competition Win a braai or a cool book. Fun Factory Win movie hampers and CDs. Cover PhotograPh: © toNY heaLD / NPL / MINDeN PICtUreS Page 3: JaMeS garaghtY (FIoNa); aLL other IMageS SUPPLIeD Page 4: IStoCKPhoto (vULtUre ILLUStratIoN, hIMaLaYaN Cat, 30 CooL thINgS aBoUt SoUth aFrICa, What IN the WorLD); FIoNa thoMSoN (BIrD); aFrIPICS (vULtUre, hUMPBaCK WhaLe); MIChaeL aDaMS (PICKerSgILL’S reeD Frog); PhototaLK / gettY IMageS (WhIte-SPotteD JeLLYFISh); DaN SIPPLe (FUNNY FILL-IN) ON THE COVERON THE COVERON THE COVERON THE COVER ADVERTORIAL We know how much you love your pets. Now you can send us photos, drawings and letters especially for this page! You can also send questions about your pet to our NG KIDS vet. ISTOCKPHOTO (DOG, HIMALAYAN CAT, DOG ILLUSTRATIONS); ALL OTHER IMAGES SUPPLIED SWEET BREEDS 3 Facts about Himalayan Cats Like Persian cats but with big blue eyes. The basic colour is white or cream. They are very friendly and love human company. The long, lush coat has to be brushed every day! 1 2 3 ( ( ( { { { { > > > < < < < < < ) ) ) ISTOCKPHOTO (DOG, HIMALAYAN CAT, DOG ILLUSTRATIONS); ALL OTHER IMAGES SUPPLIED Send us your pet-related letters, questions, pictures, drawings and jokes! •E-mailtofiona@ngkids.co.za•AskaparenttopostyourpetonourFacebookpageatwww.facebook.com/NationalGeographicKidsSA • SendalettertoTheEditor,POBox1802,CapeTown8000 We would love to meet your pets! Ifyouhave questionsabout yourpets(furry, featheredor scaled),askour localNGKIDSvet, ProfessorPaws. A:Likehumansdogscanbe allergictopollenandgrass.Alot ofpollenisreleasedinspringwhen treesbudandflowersbloom.It’s besttoaskyourvettofindout whatsheisallergicto.Yourvet mightdoaskintest. Q:Whyismydogsosneezy anditchy? Health check for your dog Ask your parent to do these with you as you have to be very gentle and you don’t want a nip. If you are in any doubt, visit your vet. I SPY IN HIS EYE. Gently pull the eyelids apart with your index finger and thumb. Can you see your reflection? All is fine. Go to the vet if they are milky. NOTE HIS NOSE. Is it wet and cold? Then your dog is healthy and happy. If it’s warm and dry it may be that he is dehydrated. PEER IN HIS EAR. Look for any discharge, swelling or smell that could be an ear infection. You can clean your dog’s ears every so often with a cotton wool dipped in ear wash. Dear Fiona Thisismydog,Piper.Sheisfour yearsold.Wetakehertothebeach forwalks. Shehaslotsofenergyandalways wantstoplay. Sheisagoodvacuumcleaner whenfooddropsonthefloorat dinnertime. Sherunsalotandlovestoplay– especiallyball. Thispictureshowshowshelikes tosleep. IloveNGKIDSandhopeyoucan putherpictureinthemagazine. –James Thornton, 7, Blouberg, Cape Town Piper 8 S E P T E M B E R 20 1 3 Juergen Freund / Caters news (siswi, both); JeFF Moore / splash news / newsCoM (triFle); © darren england / newspix (Migaloo); © Mike batterhaM / newspix (Migaloo digging) TEETH BRUSHES AP E O P EN WIDE! Central Kalimantan, Borneo Siswi the orang-utan would make a dentist proud. The 34-year-old ape has been spotted scrubbing her teeth with a toothbrush! “She doesn’t brush regularly,” says Biruté Mary Galdikas, president of Orangutan Foundation International, which works to protect Tanjung Puting National Park where Siswi lives. “But if someone hands her a toothbrush and she’s in the mood, she’ll start cleaning her mouth.” Does Siswi scrub her chompers to prevent cavities? Not exactly. Orang-utans sometimes use their fingers to clean their teeth but they’re also very good at imitating actions they see. Siswi has watched many humans living in the area brush their teeth at a nearby river. “When she brushes, she’s copying them,” Biruté says. The orang-utan may also enjoy the minty taste of toothpaste. Another reason why the animal cleans her teeth: she’s getting ready to pose for the camera. “Siswi’s much more likely to start brushing if someone’s about to take a picture,” Biruté says. “She’s a bit of a diva.” – John Micklos, Jr where did i put the floss? N ati o N a l Ge o G r a p h i c Ki D S 9 Trif le Daniel Siswi Migaloo Buckinghamshire, England When Trifle the hedgehog injured three of his legs, he received a lot of TLC – and some fancy footwear. To help the prickly animal recover, veterinarians at Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital fitted his legs with miniature blue casts. Trifle had been rushed to the hospital after he was found limping badly. An X-ray showed the hedgehog’s front leg was broken and his two back legs were fractured. Vets wrapped the limbs in bandages and plaster, just like casts made for humans. Soon Trifle was on the move again. “This little guy had so much energy, even casts couldn’t stop him from running around,” head nurse Clare Campbell says. “And they positioned his bones so they could heal more quickly.” After a couple of months, Trifle’s casts came off and the hedgehog was set free in the hospital’s garden so vets could keep an eye on him. “Trifle is coping very well without the casts,” Clare says. “He doesn’t miss them – even though they did make him look pretty stylish!” – John Micklos, Jr. H E DG EH OG FAS H ION STAT E M E NT Brisbane, Australia Migaloo the dog has a real nose for history. She’s the world’s first canine archaeologist, using her powerful sniffer to find buried ancient remains. “The work is like a game to Migaloo,” owner Gary Jackson says. “When she arrives at an archaeological site, she immediately begins smelling the soil for bones.” The four-year-old pooch trained for six months to prepare for her job and was rewarded with a game of fetch whenever she made a discovery. Now Migaloo regularly joins excavation teams to search for remains of Australia’s first inhabitants, the Aborigine. The pup’s coolest find? Bones that were 600 years old and buried two metres underground! “Dogs have at least 125 million receptors in their noses that pick up scents – humans only have 5 to 10 million,” dog expert Stewart Hilliard says. “This super sensitive snout makes dogs like Migaloo great for archaeological work.” Migaloo also has some cool moves. “When she makes a find, she does a shimmy,” Gary says. “It’s her victory dance.” – April Capochino Myers DOG BECOMES ARCHAEOLOGIST blue is definitely my colour. wonder if i’ll find an ancient chew toy. 10 S E P T E M B E R 20 1 3 Check out these Check out these outrageous facts. outrageous facts. BY MICHELLE HARRIS AND JULIE BEER © Isselee / DreamstIme (aarDvark, horse), © rangIzzz / DreamstIme (DIrt), © stanIslav voronov / DreamstIme (shovel), Image DIgItally composeD; © Darko plohl / DreamstIme (strawberry); © renker666 / DreamstIme (musIc notes); © nIlsz / DreamstIme (tabasco); © russell glenIster / corbIs (cat); © mIchael eDwarD / DreamstIme (moth); © luchschen / DreamstIme (tortIlla); © nIxIp / DreamstIme (skIn) Check out the book National Geographic Kids Weird But True 5 and the Weird But True app. MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT WANT MORE? MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT WANT MORE? MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT WANT MORE? MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT WANT MORE? MORE? WANT The ATLAS MOTH’S wingspan is about as long as an iPad. The ATLAS MOTH’S wingspan is about as long as an iPad. Spider silk has been used to make violin strings. can you dig it? A ARDVARK CAN DIG FASTER THAN SEVERAL SHOVELS. PEOPLE WITH AN AARDVARK CAN DIG FASTER THAN SEVERAL SHOVELS. PEOPLE WITH AN The average strawberry has 200 seeds. 56 MILLION YEARS AGO HORSES WERE THE SIZE OF HOUSE CATS. Some artists paint portraits on baked tortillas. YOUR SKIN SHEDS AND regrows ABOUT ONCE A MONTH. Many astronauts crave TABASCO SAUCE in space. [...]... Equinox International Rhino Day 22 15 30 23 16 O9 O8 International Literacy Day O2 01 C - u p Arb Heritage Day/Braai Day 24 le a n 17 10 O3 W W International Humanitarian Day 25 S A 18 11 o r O4 k 26 ee k 19 12 ee O5 27 national Recycling Day End of term 20 13 O6 28 International Coastal Clean-up 21 14 O7 •AFRIPICS (CAPE FUR SEALS) Humpback Whale NatioNal GeoGraphic KiDS 27 © 2013 NatioNal GeoGraphic. .. bUNGee jUmp IN THe WORLd 4 SOUTH AFRICA is one of two countries to have HOSTed the SOCCeR, CRICkeT and RUGby The Kreepy Krauly swimming pool vacuum pump was invented by a South African 6 The TUGeLA FALLS in the dRAkeNSbeRG is the second highest WATeRFALL in the world 30 COOL SO THINGS out 8 7 9 10 mark Shuttleworth became the FIRST SOUTH AFRICA IS THe LARGeST eCONOmy IN AFRICA SOUTH AFRICAN in space and... International Coastal Clean-up 21 14 O7 •AFRIPICS (CAPE FUR SEALS) Humpback Whale NatioNal GeoGraphic KiDS 27 © 2013 NatioNal GeoGraphic Society • NatioNal GeoGraphic, NatioNal GeoGraphic KidS aNd yellow Border aNd KidS yellow Border deSiGNS are trademarKS of NatioNal GeoGraphic Society • all riGhtS reServed • photo: afripicS (hUmpBacK whale) Cape Fur Seals RE to DA PLORE EX “M WANT TO BE A BiOlOGiCAl OCEANOGRApHER?... CONDITIONS ON PAGE 39 NatioNal GeoGraphic KiDS 15 potamus helps baby A hippo cross a raging river animals By Karen de Seve I t is rush hour in africa every October thousands of wildebeest and zebras gather along the banks of the Mara river They wait to cross the deep, rushing waters as part of their seasonal journey from the Masai Mara national reserve in Kenya to the Serengeti national Park in Tanzania... SpACe TOURIST SOUTH AFRICA S FIRST TeLepHONe exCHANGe OpeNed IN pORT eLIzAbeTH IN 1882 WITH 20 SUbSCRIbeRS 11 SOme OF THe FASTeST LANd ANImALS live in SOUTH AFRICA the CHeeTAH, the LION and the SpRINGbOk 36 september 2013 14 Th tra first hee n p spla art her erfor nt wa e in m s dr C 1967ed bar hris by nar d 12 A researcher measured the COLOUR of skies in 20 different desinations South Africa was the... door to being back up a tree again, looking happy and healthy,” she says national GeoGraphic KiDS 31 ho am i? W BY ShouneeS Moola Read the facts about this colourful creature ? Do you know its name? Answer on page 50 Their average life span is 20 years They vary in size from about 17 to ? 63 centimetres 32 SEPTEMBER 2013 ? NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY (IAMGE) ? ? i ? they live in small flocks of six birds... being in the field Our oceans are important and we’ve explored only a sliver of them There’s much more to see.” The NG KIDS series “Dare to Explore” helps celebrate the 125th anniversary of the National Geographic Society, which was founded in 1888 Grab a parent and go to nationalgeographic com/125 for more information Coming next month: Pilot Barrington Irving jets around the world “Never stop learning... BY C.M TOMLIN whIte- SpotteD jeLLYfISh KaKaNI fILMS jeLLIeS SwarMING arouND her Mark Thiessen / naTional GeoGraphiC (kaTija profile); © MonTy GrahaM (kaTija swiMMinG); MinT iMaGes paul edMondson / GeTTy iMaGes (sea neTTle jellyfish); phoToTalk / GeTTy iMaGes (whiTe-spoTTed jellyfish) NatioNal GeoGraphic KiDS 29 koala Re did someone say snack time? i’m all ears! healing 30 SEPTEMBER 2013 scue Re H After... america’s first lady, Michelle obama, selena gomez, danica patrick, and more at kids. nationalgeographic.com/ Greatnature iT’s ASCANCE USI IN E KiTcHen! king for! e who we’re loo d to see a party? Then you’r -to snack at and we are excite Is your dish the go mpetition is back is year! ng chefs co store for us th The NG kids you chefs have in nd win! t all of you young wha rite recipe a send us your... only ONE recipe per category! Post to: NG KIDS Young Chefs Competition, PO Box 1802, Cape Town 8001 Don’t forget to include the entry form on page 39*! E-mail to: yc@ngkids.co.za Include all the information on the entry form in your e-mail Deliver to: NG KIDS Office, Media24, 18th floor, ABSA Building, 4 Adderley Street, Cape Town Enter online: Visit the NG KIDS SA fan page on Facebook and click on . pictures, drawings and jokes! •E-mailtofiona@ngkids.co.za•AskaparenttopostyourpetonourFacebookpageatwww.facebook.com/NationalGeographicKidsSA • SendalettertoTheEditor,POBox1802,CapeTown8000 We. Editor, NG KIDS, PO Box 1802, Cape Town 8000. • Send an e-mail to fiona@ngkids.co.za or SMS* a letter to “NGK Letters” at 33970. * SMSs cost R1,50. Free SMSs do not apply. See www.ngkids.co.za. luchschen / DreamstIme (tortIlla); © nIxIp / DreamstIme (skIn) Check out the book National Geographic Kids Weird But True 5 and the Weird But True app. MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT WANT MORE? MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT WANT MORE? MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT WANT MORE? MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT MORE? WANT WANT MORE? MORE? WANT