WIN!WIN! Issue 110 October 2013 R28,00 (VAT incl.) Issue 110 October 2013 R28,00 (VAT incl.) 9 771811 723006 1 0 1 1 0 TOY HAMPERS WORTH R25 000 TOY HAMPERS WORTH R25 000 Khumba Khumba Khumba Khumba 5 5 5 BIG BIG ISSUE ISSUE LIONS: MUMS & CUBS, ELEPHANT RESCUE, SAVE THE RHINO, BUFFALO FACTS, LEOPARD POSTER LIONS: MUMS & CUBS, ELEPHANT RESCUE, SAVE THE RHINO, BUFFALO FACTS, LEOPARD POSTER LIONS: MUMS & CUBS, ELEPHANT RESCUE, SAVE THE RHINO, BUFFALO FACTS, LEOPARD POSTER BIG ISSUE NE W m ovie NE W m ovie NEW movie NEW movie NEW m ovie NEW m ovie NEW movie NEW movie SPACE ROBOTS The Lorax SILLY PET TRICKS! FREAKY TORNADO AND MORE! 2 HAPPY FEET 2 HAPPY FEET GAMES, JOKES , CLOUDED LEOPARD RESCUE SPACE ROBOTS The Lorax SILLY PET TRICKS! FREAKY TORNADO AND MORE! 2 HAPPY FEET 2 HAPPY FEET GAMES , JOKES , CLOUDED LEOPARD RESCUE SPACE ROBOTS The Lorax SILLY PET TRICKS! FREAKY TORNADO AND MORE! 2 HAPPY FEET 2 HAPPY FEET GAMES, JOKES, CLOUDED LEOPARD RESCUE SPACE ROBOTS The Lorax SILLY PET TRICKS! FREAKY TORNADO AND MORE! 2 HAPPY FEET 2 HAPPY FEET GAMES, JOKES, CLOUDED LEOPARD RESCUE Cool Things About The World 30 30 30 30 Cool Things About The World Cool Things About The World Cool Things About The World NEW m ovie NEW m ovie NEW m ovie NEW m ovie NEW movie NEW m ovie NEW movie NEW m ovie NEW m ovie NEW m ovie NEW m ovie NEW movie NEW m ovie NEW movie NEW movie NEW movie NEW movie NEW movie NEW movie NEW movie NEW movie NEW movie NEW movie NEW movie NEW movie NEW movie NEW movie NEW movie BEHIND THE SCENES OF WRECK-IT RALPH BEHIND THE SCENES OF WRECK-IT RALPH BEHIND THE SCENES OF WRECK-IT RALPH BEHIND THE SCENES OF WRECK-IT RALPH HI, KiDS Reading NG KIDS you get to know a lot about animals. I can hear some of you saying ‘yeees’, but, wait, what I’m leading up to saying is that working on NG KIDS we also get to learn a lot. Monique said that she has huge respect for vultures after reading the story in last month’s issue. Shounees was really tickled pink to read about the mole that keeps twitching to stay alive. Lisel was really impressed by the way the lionesses work together for the good of their family pride. I was amazed to learn that a single species of beetle lives on a mountain-top and nowhere else. Mountaineers must watch where they step. This month we focus on the Big Five: cheer at the story in which an elephant and her cub are rescued from a muddy waterhole, smile at the story of cubs and their mums, be positive that a range of different strategies are being used in the fight against rhino poachers, learn buffalo facts and finally enjoy a truly awesome leopard poster. Dare to Explore! LUCKY SUBSCRIBER LUCKY SUBSCRIBER LUCKY SUBSCRIBER LUCKY SUBSCRIBER LUCKY SUBS LUCKY SUBS LUCKY SUBS October’s subscribers of the month are Sarlie Nel, 7, from the Northern Cape and Benjamin Andrag, 10, from Cape Town. They’ve each won* a cool pair of sunglasses from the Little Greens range. * Terms and conditions on page 49 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. LETTER OF THE MONTH IT’S AFRICAN PENGUIN AWARENESS DAY ON 12 OCTOBER. HELLO, FIONA I LOVE READING NG KIDS. IT’S MY FAVOURITE MAGAZINE AND I’M ALWAYS LOOKING FOR IT IN THE SHOPS. NG KIDS ENCOURAGED ME TO START WATCHING NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ON TV AND NOW I’M ADDICTED TO IT. THIS MAGAZINE HAS BEEN SO USEFUL IN MY SCHOOL PROJECTS AND IT EVEN INSPIRED ME TO GO AND SHADOW A WORKER AT THE JOHANNESBURG ZOO. THE ONE THING I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IS IF YOU COULD ADD A PAGE ON CUTE TREATS FOR YOUR PET. BUT ANYWAY, THIS IS THE BEST MAG EVER. ERIN RUSHFORTH, 13, JOHANNESBURG THANKS, ERIN. WE’LL PUT SOME TREAT RECIPES IN THE NOVEMBER ISSUE WHICH WILL BE OUR SPECIAL PET ISSUE. FIONA Young eyes are precious and need special care, but kids also want to look cool. Little Greens has stylish shades for kids up to ten years. Made from a tough, cotton-based acetate, the range offers cute, comfortable style from about R699 per pair. See our full catalogue at www.greeneyewear.com. ERIN Pet Friends Forever 6 10 18 22 Dare To Explore Elephant Rescue Family Pride Save the Rhinos Poster: Leopard 25 24 Bet You Didn’t Know: Buffalo Facts 30 Cool Things About The World 36 41 Funny Fill-in REGULARSREGULARSREGULARSREGULARS Big FiveBig FiveBig FiveBig Five WINWINWINWIN Art Zone 46 50 Just Joking Find the otter! We hid ten otters in the magazine. Here’s one of them but can you spot all ten? iNSIDE 16 29 48 Competition Win ten toy hampers. Fun Factory Win movie hampers. Cover PhotograPh: © Darrell gulin / getty images/ gallo images Cover insets: © 2013 triggerfish animation CC. all rights reserveD (KhumBa™); © Pete oXforD / minDen PiCtures (PanDa) Page 3: James garaghty (fiona); all other images suPPlieD Page 4: © anDy rouse / nature PiCture liBrary (elePhant resCue); © Chris harvey / arDea (family PriDe); renÉe De Wet (save the rhino); istoCKPhoto (otter, Pet frienDs forever); Jon ross PhotograPhy (Dare to eXPlore); the Bigger PiCture / agefotostoCK (leoParD Poster); fiona thomson (Buffalo); © Pete oXforD / minDen PiCtures (PanDa); 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. INPRA (IRIsh setteR ); IstOCKPhOtO (dOg ILLUstRAtION); ALL OtheR IMAges sUPPLIed SWEET BREEDS 3 Facts about Irish Setters They have a long silky, reddish coat. They don’t make good guard dogs as they are not very assertive. They are very friendly and get on well with other dogs but might have a problem with cats or small children, as they are very lively. 1 2 3 INPRA (IRIsh setteR ); IstOCKPhOtO (dOg ILLUstRAtION); 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:Usuallyit’sjustdampfurthatsmells abit“doggy”.Ifbathtimeisnothis favouritething,hemayalsosmellbad. Thiswilldisappearafterawhile.Ifit’s reallybadvisitthevetasyourpooch couldhaveaskininfection. Q:Whydodogssmellfunny aftertheyhavebeenbathed? Celebrate World Animal Day on 4 October Dear Fiona MynameisMeganBothma. Iam12yearsoldandlivein Perth,Australia. Onmyseventhbirthday, whenwestilllivedinSouth Africa,Igotadogcalled Minaandinmyopinionsheis thecutestdogintheworld (althoughotherpetowners mightdisagree!).Sheisa five-year-oldMaltese,a littlebundleofjoyandIlove hersomuch.Inthesummer of2011,whenwemovedto Perth,Iunfortunatelyhad togiveheraway. Luckilyformemyaunt offeredtotakeherandsheis beingverywellcaredfor. IgottoseeherthisJune holidaysonourvisittoSouth Africa-whatanawesome happening.WhileinSouth AfricaIgottheJulyissueof NationalGeographicKids andsawthePFFpage.I thoughtI’dsendthisin toyou. Minawasbornon11June 2008andIgotheronmy birthdayon8August2008 (8,8,8–luckyorwhat?) Kind Regards Megan Mina It’s about all animals, big or small , feathered or furry. Make a donation to an animal charity. Celebrate our relationship with animals. Donate a few tins of cat food to the Society for the Protection of Animals. Think of the role that animals play in our lives. Plant a shrub that will attract butterflies to your garden. Contact: National Council of SPCA Post: PO Box 1320, Alberton 1450 Tel: 011-907-3590 E-mail: nspca@nspca.co.za Web: www.nspca.co.za or www.animalsmatter.org draftfcb (ginny, monty); three ring ranch, inc. (zoe with tootsie); bill adams (zoe profile); dr. alice auersperg (figaro, all) DRIVE CAR DOGS 8 OCTOBER 2013 Auckland, New Zealand Ginny, Monty and Porter don’t hang their heads out of the window during a car ride – these rescue dogs are too busy driving. After two months of learning how to operate a vehicle, each pooch was able to steer a car around a racetrack. “We wanted to prove how smart rescue dogs are,” animal behaviourist Mark Vette says. He used voice commands and treats to teach the pups how to turn a steering wheel and move a lever to change gears. Then the trio practised their new skills in custom-made karts. Soon the dogs were ready to hit the road in a real modified car. Their ride only accelerated up to 12 kilometres per hour and trainers could stop the car using a remote control. The dogs took turns getting strapped into a comfortable safety harness in the driver’s seat. Following the commands of caretakers just outside the vehicle, each pooch put the car in “drive,” slowly turned the wheel to steer around the course and pulled another lever to brake. Wonder if they’ll be flying aeroplanes next? ooh, is that a parking spot? GINNY AT THE WHEEL MONTY PRACTISES HIS STEERING SKILLS. GOLDEN ZEBRA 1 2 3 NatioNal GeoGraphic KiDS 9 COCKATOO MAKES TOOLS Vienna, Austria Figaro the Goffin’s cockatoo is raking in the snacks. When the bird spots food just out of reach from his cage, he builds a tiny wooden tool to sweep the tasty prize his way. The bird first revealed his talent when a pebble he was playing with rolled out of his cage. His leg wasn’t long enough to reach the stone. So he flew away and returned with a twig, slipping it through the fence to drag the pebble towards him. Scientists at the University of Vienna, where Figaro lives, were excited. The bird had used a tool, which cockatoos don’t usually do. Wondering if he would do it again, they placed a nut exactly where the pebble had been. This time Figaro used his beak to carve and pull a small strip of wood from a beam in his cage. He dragged the nut towards him with his new “rake.” Although many animals use rocks or sticks as tools, few create them as Figaro did. “Now he can make a tool in five minutes,” says researcher Alice Auersperg, who studies Figaro. “It proves that he has very good problem-solving skills.” Who knew geniuses came with feathers? Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Every zebra has a unique stripe pattern, but Zoe’s markings are even more special. The animal has white and gold stripes. She has a rare condition called amelanosis (ah-mel-an- OH-sis). Her body doesn’t make enough melanin, the substance in an animal’s skin and hair cells that produce colour. So her coat has golden tones rather than black. “Only 25 other ‘golden zebras’ are known to exist in the world,” says Ann Goody, who runs the Three Ring Ranch wildlife refuge where Zoe lives. Life can be difficult in the wild for animals with amelanosis because predators can easily spot them. But Zoe is protected at her refuge and her condition hasn’t caused other problems. The zebra spends the day chomping grass and playing with her sister, Tootsie. “To us, Zoe is an astonishing animal,” Ann says. “But to her family she’s just a great older sis.” i’m cuckoo for cashew nuts. go for the gold! BY ELISABETH DEFFNER TOOTSIE AND ZOE “You must have confidence. If you don’t believe, no one else will. Confidence will always keep you going.” 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: Photographer Joel Sartore snaps pictures of amazing wildlife. BY C.M. TOMLIN DARE to EXPLORE DARE to EXPLORE DARE to EXPLORE DARE to EXPLORE DARE to EXPLORE Pilot Barrington Irving set a record by becoming the youngest person and first African American to fly solo around the world. He talks about staying confident at 5 000 metres. “ I was flying from Saudi Arabia to Egypt when a wall of sand suddenly rose up in front of the plane. As I flew into the sandstorm, grains began seeping into the cockpit through vents. I could hear the sand scraping the outside of the aircraft. All I could do, was hope that none of it got into the engine turbochargers, which would have been disastrous. Luckily I made it through the storm unharmed. “My trip around the world took 97 days and included 145 hours of flying. Sometimes I flew more than 12 hours before making a stop. There were times when I had to crawl from the plane on my elbows after landing because I lost my leg strength during the long flight. “It’s lonely in the air by yourself and it can be scary. You hear thunder louder than you’ve ever heard it before. Wind shakes the plane all over the place and at night it can become so dark that you don’t know up from down. But being a pilot is totally worth it. You have the opportunity to explore the world from amazing heights. You just have to trust yourself and your equipment. There are many things to discover, but you have to get out there.” IN THE COCKPIT THE PILOT REFUELS HIS PLANE. Edmund J. Coppa / SplaSh nEwS / nEwSCom (irving profilE); Jon roSS photography (fuElling); robErt mayEr / mCt / nEwSCom (CoCkpit) STUDY: Algebra, chemistry, biology and geography PLAY: Flight Simulator or X-Plane – with these computer sims you can fly virtually. READ: Anything you can get your hands on, including magazines such as Popular Mechanics to keep up with technology. WANT TO BE A PILOT? 10 OCTOBER 2013 [...]... buffalo and weighs up to 900 kilograms FIONA THOMSON (BUFFALO) 24 OCTOBER 2013 largest WorldMags.net photo credit goes here © 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: The Bigger Picture/AgeFotostock (leopard) WorldMags.net WorldMags.net 15 14... in the amber grass, surrounding a small group of buffalo that has broken YOU CAN HELP! Lions, tigers, leopards and other big cats need protection Learn more about National Geographic’s Big Cats Initiative online: kids. nationalgeographic.com /kids/ big-cats/ or ngbigcats.org young They fight him off, which gives from a huge herd A lioness sprints the twins’ mother a chance to escape towards a bull The other... the only remaining witnesses to the events are the moai themselves And the lips of these stone-faced giants are sealed Chile boasts more than a thousand volcanoes, many of them active national Geographic KIDS Geographic KIDS na WorldMags.net t i o n a l 31 31 Spot the WorldMags.net By Nina Louw Y ou won’t see a Cape clawless otter every day In fact, you’ll probably just see footprints in the sand where... could join in and send her an e-mail to nicolaokes@gmail.com when you’ve seen an otter Check her blog at www.nicolaokes.co.za to find out the latest about otters around the Peninsula national Geographic KIDS Geographic KIDS na WorldMags.net t i o n a l 35 17 WorldMags.net 1 2 3 Before the 1400s people in Europe thought Portugal’s southern coast was the edge of the world 4 5 Hurricanes north of the equator... male lion who snarls Family First HUNTING IS A GROUP EFFORT, ESPECIALLY WHEN PREY IS AS BIG AS THESE BUFFALO 20 WorldMags.net WorldMags.net © zssd / minden pictures / national geographic stock (cubs chasing); © beverly joubert / national geographic stock (adults hunting); © anup shah / nature picture library (male lion and cub); © peter blackwell / nature picture library (good fences lioness) a male... interrobang combines a question mark with an exclamation mark WorldMags.net in the 8th century a.d A meteor crater in South Africa is wider than Ireland WANT MORE? WANT MORE? Check out the book National Geographic Kids Weird But True 4 and the Weird But True app WorldMags.net WorldMags.net WorldMags.net The little Five The Western Cape is a treasure trove of biodiversity, with one of the six Plant Kingdoms... angles It is working with the Mozambican government to set up stricter controls and to enable our rangers to follow poachers across the border There are also plans to set up a National Rhino Fund The government has given the Kruger National Park R75 million to train and employ more rangers too Fundisile Mketeni from the Department of Environmental Affairs has said he knows this is an emotional issue and... 22 OCTOBER 2013 WorldMags.net hinos WorldMags.net Alone YOU’LL BE OKAY A special dYe is infused into the rhino horn that will make it worth nothing to poachers SAFE! WorldMags.net t i o n a l Na Geographic KIDS 23 WorldMags.net cool facts 5 aboutbuffalo 1 3 2 The African Cape buffalo Their live in large herds tongues are buffalo has never with up to a thousand smooth been domesticated Asian animals... 32 000 to 35 000 still survive in the wild – almost all in Afr ica © andy rouse / nature picture library (big picture); © chris harvey / ardea (lions drinking); © mitsuaki iwago / minden pictures / national geographic stock (cubs playing); © nhpa / superstock (mother licking cub) 18 WorldMags.net WorldMags.net Family Pride Lion cubs grow up strong with help from mums, aunts and big sisters By Karen de... that is just 45 centimetres tall – comes from Chile © Doug Allan / Nature Picture Library (moai head); © m Kathleen Schamel (moai row); © Atlantide Phototravel / CORBIS (tourist); MICHAEL MELFORD / National Geographic Stock (moai with eye paint) Chile’s Atacama Desert is said to resemble the surface of Mars Although various scientific sleuths found ways to move the moai, researchers still don’t agree . going.” 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. even prey on them. Major threats to our Little Five: >> NatioNal GeoGraphic KiDS 15 almost there! GEOMETRIC TORTOISE The geometric tortoise’s shell has a beautiful bright yellow starred. 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