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! Happy New Year and welcome to Nat Geo Kids' first issue out in 2026! This month's cool cover star is a silly-looking snowy owl – fly over to page 10 to discover how these cute (and funny) fluffballs grow up to become fierce hunters! Plus check out the Greek myths behind star signs on page 18, flick to page 30 to meet some of the world's rudest animals, and then get up close to wildlife living in bizarre locations on page 36! Also this issue, we find out about the life of painter and inventor Leonardo da Vinci, and learn about some weird trainers grown from bacteria! Hope you enjoy all the puzzles and posters in this month's mag, too. See you next issue!…
Rare whales spotted! These are the first-ever photos of ginkgo-toothed beaked whales! Some of the deepest-diving mammals on Earth, no scientist had seen them alive before this pod was sighted in waters off Baja California, Mexico. The shy whales usually live far from coastlines and only surface to breathe for a few minutes at a time. So researchers had been using hydrophones (underwater microphones) to track their distinctive calls since 2020 – and in June 2024, they finally caught up with them! There are 24 known beaked whale species, but scientists know very little about them and they're hard to tell apart – the team had to get a DNA sample to confirm this sighting. Wow! World's largest spiderweb! Arachnophobes, look away now – researchers have discovered the world's largest…
Bird vs. beast! Photographer Tanmoy Das Karmakar snapped this action shot in West Bengal, India, recently. It shows a white-breasted kingfisher locked in battle with an Oriental garden lizard. Tanmoy says the bird snatched the reptile from water, but the lizard fought back, biting the bird's beak and using its legs to clamp the bill shut. Eventually, the bird had to let go. Wow! Hot shot! Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy took this incredible photo in November, capturing the moment skydiver Gabe Brown passed in front of the Sun after leaping from a plane! Called The Fall of Icarus, the image was snapped over Arizona, USA. “We nailed the shot on Gabe's first jump,” says Andrew. Amazing! Fast footy! Er, don't try this one at home, kids! Keepy-uppy kings Ammar Ahmed Alkhudhiri…
SNOOZE CRUISE Bus-sized sperm whales look a bit eerie when they nap vertically in the water. But scientists think these whales sleep like this so they can easily swim up to the surface when they need to take a breath. (Their blowholes are at the top-front of their heads.) So their sleeping style is actually smart, not spooky! SLEEP CHAMP Koalas are one of Earth's sleepiest animals. These Australian marsupials kip for up to 22 hours a day. Scientists think that's because their eucalyptus meals take so much energy to digest. Sweet dreams, koalas! CATNAP Leopards don't just sleep in trees – they eat up there, too! These big cats, found across much of Africa and Asia, often bring their prey up into trees to prevent other predators, like lions…
IT'S BEHIND YOU! National Geographic photographers Jennifer Hayes and David Doubilet were diving off the coast of Cuba, when Jennifer suddenly heard a rapid burst of camera clicks and saw strobe lights flashing in the water. Click, click, click, click! “David was furiously trying to get my attention!” she says. “I turned around and saw this magnificent croc! Then it calmly swam away.” By pressing his camera shutter button to alert Jennifer of the danger, David also managed to capture this amazing photo! “We'd seen crocodiles, mangroves, coral and sharks almost every day,” says Jennifer. “But a croc had never come so close to us before!” The photographers were in a marine sanctuary called the Gardens of the Queen, where American crocodiles are used to humans diving and snorkelling nearby –…
A brown lemming cautiously steps out of its burrow into the 24-hour sunlight of the Arctic summer. The small, mouselike animal is right to be wary as it scampers around munching on short grass – there's a deadly hunter nearby! Golden eyes locked on the lemming, a male snowy owl swoops down from a rocky outcrop. Gliding just above the ground, he extends his legs and snatches the rodent in his long, black talons! Returning to the nest, the owl presents his mate with the freshly killed lemming, and she tears off bite-sized pieces to feed the seven fuzzy hatchlings nestled beside her. It's hard to believe these blind, helpless babies will one day be fearsome predators themselves – the youngest chick only weighs as much as eight grapes! It will…
