Perfect for nature-loving 7-12 year olds, each issue of Nat Geo Kids is carefully curated to ignite curiosity and spark conversations about science and nature, empowering children to love and care for our beautiful planet.
Hi Kids, Forget the hare and the tortoise – this month’s mag features the ostrich and the sloth, the planet’s fastest bird and slowest mammal! Turn to page 8 to discover how conservationists are helping our cover star – the three-toed sloth – survive in urban environments. Then, on page 14, learn how different the speedy ostrich is to other birds! Read about some peculiar plants on page 18 before beavering over to page 26 to check out eight facts about Britain’s largest rodents. Plus, Nat Geo scientists tell us about their funniest mishaps on page 30. Oopsy! Enjoy the mag and see you next time!…
Hoppers When the glade near her home is threatened, animal-mad Mabel jumps at the chance to help. Her professor has invented cool new tech that can ‘hop’ human consciousness into lifelike animal robots. And soon enough, Mabel has infiltrated the animal world disguised in the body of a furry robot beaver! Finding she can understand animals, Mabel befriends the beavers’ enthusiastic leader, King George, and starts thwarting the destructive plans of pompous human mayor Jerry Generazzo. Go, Mabel! ● In cinemas 26 March. Project Hail Mary Hollywood star Ryan Gosling (aka Ken from Barbie) plays Ryland Grace, a science teacher-turned astronaut, in this epic sci-fi thriller. Waking up from a coma on a spaceship light-years from Earth, Grace gradually remembers what he’s doing there: the Sun is dying, and he’s…
Llamas catch thief! A herd of eight llamas helped police catch a crook in Derbyshire, UK, last month – by trapping the escaping thief in their field! The criminal was fleeing police officers when he clambered into the llamas’ enclosure on the evening of 2 February. But little did he know that these furry creatures are very territorial and will chase, kick and spit at anything they see as a threat. In fact, they’re often used as guards on farms to protect the other animals! So, when the stranger entered their field, the llamas leapt into action. The 1.8m-tall animals raced over and surrounded the thief, making a warning cry that owner Heidi Price compared to the sound of old men laughing. Trapped in the dark by the ‘laughing’ llamas,…
Egg invader! Indian macro-photographer Raghuram Annadana zoomed in on a banana leaf to reveal the colourful and dramatic world of some fascinating insects. Those pretty pinkish domes are banana skipper butterfly eggs - and the little parasitic wasp is laying its own eggs directly into them. When the wasp larvae hatch, they’ll gobble the butterfly embryo inside and then pupate, before emerging from the eggs themselves. How rude! “To give a sense of size, each butterfly egg is just 1.8mm and the wasp is even tinier,” says Raghuram, who spotted the surreal scene while out on a walk with his camera. Wow! ● Raghuram’s close-up picture scooped first place in the ‘18 and over’ category of The Royal Entomological Society’s Photography Competition 2025. The 2026 competition is oopen now - you…
Three-toed sloths like this one move just 1.8-2.4m per minute when they’re on the ground and 4m per minute when in trees. “Everything sloths do is in slow motion it’s like they’re trying to swim through a lake of Nutella,” says SloCo founder Becky Cliffe. “Even when they blink, it’s slow!” A female brown-throated sloth crawls slowly across a busy road in the coastal town of Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica, Central America. Reaching the other side, she arrives at an outdoor farmers market. The confused animal climbs over a pile of broccoli to get to a water pipe that’s attached to the seller’s sink (left). The sloth has mistaken it for a tree trunk - but she won’t find any tasty leaves here. Luckily, one of the vendors phones a…
A poweful beast sprints across the African savannah, startling a bunch of nearby zebras. No, it’s not a big cat – it’s an ostrich! These muscly creatures aren’t exactly what most people picture when they think of birds. You’ll never spot an ostrich soaring gracefully across the sky or chirping softly on a tree branch. And instead of being easy prey, these birds are more than capable of defending themselves against fierce predators like lions, cheetahs, leopards and spotted hyenas. Read on to discover five ways ostriches aren’t ordinary birds… Good eyesight means that ostriches can spot danger from further away. Their warning calls alert other animals, too, so they’re often used as lookouts! 1 They can really mess you up! Ostriches may have adorable, big eyes – the largest of…
