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LionCubs

2014WINNER

OF APARENTSCHOICEGOLD

AWARD

2014WINNER

OF APARENTSCHOICEGOLD

AWARD

look inside:animal cards!

March / April 2015natgeo.com/littlekids

Why do you think deer have antlers?

Male deer grow big antlers. They use their antlers to f ight each other. The winner gets to spend more time with the female deer.

ANIMALS

Why?

WHITE-TAILED DEER

D

ON

ALD

M. J

ON

ES /

MIN

DEN

PIC

TUR

ES /

CO

RB

IS

2 m a r c h / a p r i l 2 0 1 5

P

IXEL

RO

BO

T /

DR

EAM

STIM

E (P

AIN

T SE

T);

ELE

NA

ELI

SSEE

VA /

D

REA

MST

IME

(FLO

WER

S);

SER

GEY

02

/ D

REA

MST

IME

(BO

OTS

)

Find one difference.

Find two differences.

Find three differences.

Look at each picture in the top row.Find the differences between it and the one below.

What Is Different?SORTING

n a t i o n a l g e o g r a p h i c 3

Usually buntings eat

mostly seeds. But in the spring they eat mostly

bugs.

The female is not as

colorful as the male.

A painted bunting can use spiderwebs to hold her nest

together.

A

LAN

MU

RPH

Y, B

IA /

MIN

DEN

PI

CTU

RES

(MA

LE);

B

ILL

CO

STER

/ A

RD

EA (F

EMA

LE)

MALE

Thats Cool!Meet the painted bunting.

NATURE

4 M a r c h / A p r i l 2 0 1 5

What in the World are These?

NAME SOME OTHER PINK THINGS.

OBOT

PINK EMONADE

IGGY BANK

UPCAKEALL ISH

LOWERS

UITAR LAMINGO

TOP

RO

W (L

EFT

TO

RIG

HT)

: S

ER

GEY

MO

STO

VO

Y /

DR

EA

MST

IME

; C

AO

HA

I / D

RE

AM

STIM

E;

AN

DI B

ER

GE

R /

DR

EA

MST

IME

. M

IDD

LE R

OW

(LE

FT T

O R

IGH

T):

WAT

UN

YO

O S

OP

ON

TAM

MA

RA

K /

DR

EA

MST

IME

; LEV

EN

TEG

YO

RI /

SH

UTT

ER

STO

CK

; D

AVIN

CI /

DR

EA

MST

IME

. B

OTT

OM

RO

W (L

EFT

TO

RIG

HT)

: SU

ZI N

ELS

ON

/ S

HU

TTE

RST

OC

K;

ISTO

CK

/ K

CLI

NE

; S

VE

TLA

NA

FO

OTE

/ D

RE

AM

STIM

E.

NAMING

n a t i o n a l g e o g r a p h i c 5

Lions are the only wild cats that live in family groups called prides.

GROWING UP IN A

LION FAMILY

ANIMALS

6 m a r c h / a p r i l 2 0 1 5

A father lion has long hair,

called a mane, around his face

and neck.

Lions roar to tell other lions where

they are.

MANE

ROBERT MUCKLEY / GETTY IMAGES (BIG PICTURE); ANUP SHAH / NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY (MALE AND CUB)

n a t i o n a l g e o g r a p h i c 7

Lion cubs have many playmates in their pride.

They chase, leap, and pounce on each other.

Playing is great exercise and helps cubs

grow strong.

8 m a r c h / a p r i l 2 0 1 5

Cubs practice hunting by sneaking up on each other.

After lots of playing, cubs enjoy snuggling with Mom for a nap.

Lions rest for about 20 hours

every day. A whole day has

24 hours.

D

ENIS

-HU

OT

/ N

ATU

RE

PIC

TUR

E LI

BR

ARY

(BIG

PIC

TUR

E, F

OU

R C

UB

S, C

UB

STA

LKIN

G);

SU

ZI E

SZTE

RH

AS

/ M

IND

EN P

ICTU

RES

(MO

THER

AN

D C

UB

)

Point to the scene in which each of these four animals lives.ANIMAL HOMES

DAN SIPPLE

MATCHING

10 M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 1 5

LION DOLPHINROBIN HONEYBEE

What colors can you name in these pictures?n a t i o n a l g e o g r a p h i c 11

Many kinds of bats have

big ears. That is how the bat- eared fox got

its name.

What huge ears these foxes have!

FOXES

ANIMALS

BAT-EARED

12 M a r c h / A p r i l 2 0 1 5

A bat-eared fox uses its big ears to listen for insects its favorite food.

When it hears an insect, the fox digs to find it. The fox catches its meal and chews it up.

EAT

DIG

LISTEN

C

HA

RLI

E SU

MM

ERS

/ N

ATU

RE

PIC

TUR

E LI

BR

ARY

(BIG

PIC

TUR

E);

CH

RIS

TIA

N H

EIN

RIC

H /

IM

AG

EBR

OK

ER /

PH

OTO

SHO

T (L

ISTE

NIN

G);

T

BK

MED

IA.D

E /

ALA

MY

(DIG

GIN

G);

SO

LVIN

ZA

NK

L /

NAT

UR

E PI

CTU

RE

LIB

RA

RY (E

ATIN

G)

n a t i o n a l g e o g r a p h i c 13

Bat-eared foxes are all

grown up by the time they are

about one year old.

Baby bat-eared foxes are born in a den that their parents dig in the ground.

S

UZI

ESZ

TER

HA

S /

MIN

DEN

PIC

TUR

ES (T

WO

PU

PS);

VIN

CEN

T G

RA

FHO

RST

/ M

IND

EN P

ICTU

RES

(YAW

NIN

G)

There are more than 25 kinds of foxes. Here are just a few.

FOXESMore

FENNEC FOX

EASTERN GRAY FOX

RED FOX

SAN JOAQUIN KIT FOX

n a t i o n a l g e o g r a p h i c 15 RO

LF N

USS

BA

UM

ER /

NAT

UR

E PI

CTU

RE

LIB

RARY

(GRA

Y);

KEV

IN S

CH

AFE

R /

GET

TY IM

AG

ES (K

IT);

BR

IAN

BEV

AN

/ A

RD

EA (R

ED);

T

HO

MA

S RA

BEI

L /

NAT

UR

E PI

CTU

RE

LIB

RARY

(FEN

NEC

)

RE

BE

CC

A H

ALE

/ N

GS

STA

FF (

ALL

)For more fun, find all the round objects. Then find all the ones that are animals.

Which objects have wheels?

Look!Look!Look at the pictures below. Find the same objectsin the photo at right. Circle them with your finger.

FINDING

16 m a r c h / a p r i l 2 0 1 5

Nature

A dandelion bud grows at the top of a stem.

1 The bud opens and a flower with bright yellow petals blooms.

2

A DANDELION GROWS

18 M a r c h / A p r i l 2 0 1 5

The wind blows the seeds away. When they land on the ground, new dandelions will grow.

4

GROWS

After about two weeks the petals fall off. Now the dandelion looks like a round, fluffy ball. It is a ball of seeds.

3

JAMES OSMOND PHOTOGRAPHY / ALAMY (1, 2, 3); IMAGEBROKER / ALAMY (4); JON FEINGERSH / BLEND IMAGES / CORBIS (GIRL) n a t i o n a l g e o g r a p h i c 19

SPEEDYDinosaurArchaeornithomimus had long, strong legs. It could run very fast.

Some kinds of dinosaurs ate both meat and plants. Animals that eat both are called omnivores.

This speedy runner was an omnivore. It ate fruit, leaves, eggs, and small animals.

SAY MY NAME: AHR-kee-or-NI-thoh-MIME-us

Paleontology

ART

BY

FRA

NC

O T

EMPE

STA

FACTSFOOD

SIZE

Meat and plants

This shows how big Archaeornithomimus was.

5-YEAR-OLD

20 m a r c h / a p r i l 2 0 1 5

This dinosaur had no teeth.

FROM THE PAGES OF

How many trucks do you count?

TRUCKS on the Move

Count the number of wheels you see on each truck.

COUNTING

22 M a r c h / A p r i l 2 0 1 5

RO

B W

ILSO

N /

SH

UTT

ER

STO

CK

(FIR

E T

RU

CK

); B

AM

BU

H /

SH

UTT

ER

STO

CK

(BLU

E M

IXIN

G T

RU

CK

); D

AR

IO L

O P

RE

STI /

SH

UTT

ER

STO

CK

(B

LAC

K T

RU

CK

); IG

OR

MA

RX

/ S

HU

TTE

RST

OC

K (O

RA

NG

E T

RU

CK

); V

ER

ESH

CH

AG

IN D

MIT

RY /

SH

UTT

ER

STO

CK

(GR

EE

N T

RU

CK

)

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PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

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NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC LITTLE KIDS, Issue 49, March / April 2015

(ISSN 1934-8363), is published bimonthly by the National Geographic Society, 1145 17th Street N.W.,

Washington, DC 20036-4688. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to

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n a t i o n a l g e o g r a p h i c 23

wild cardswild cards

EUROPEAN WILDCAT

COPYRIGHT 2015 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

wild cardswild cards

KONSTANTIN MIKHAILOV / NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY

FUN FACTsThis kind of cat doesnt live with

people. Its wild. Wildcats are born in spring. The moms usually

have three to six kittens at a time.

European wildcat

wild cardswild cards

RING-TAILED LEMUR

wild cardswild cards

NICK GARBUTT / NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY

FUN FACTsThe ring-tailed lemur lives in

Madagascar, an island country in Africa. These animals clean their

fur by combing it with their teeth.

ring-tailed lemur

wild cardswild cards

REGAL ANGELFISH

wild cardswild cards

GEORGETTE DOUWMA / NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY

FUN FACTsRegal angelfish swim in tropical ocean waters. They often travel

in pairs. The fish snack on sponges, a kind of sea animal.

regal angelfish

wild cardswild cards

BANDED DEMOISELLE

wild cardswild cards

DANNY LAPS / MINDEN PICTURES

FUN FACTsThe banded demoiselle is an

insect. It has a long, thin body. Adults hunt other insects as

they fly through the air.

banded demoiselle

wil

d c

ard

sw

ild

ca

rds

GEN

TOO

PEN

GU

IN

YVA MOMATIUK & JOHN EASTCOTT / MINDEN PICTURES

FUN FACTsA gentoo penguin lives in and

around the ocean. The bird dives into the water to find food. It can

dive 450 times in one day.

gentoo penguin

wil

d c

ard

sw

ild

ca

rds

red-

neck

ed p

adem

elon

DU

CK-

BIL

LED

PLA

TYPU

S

DAVE WATTS / NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY

FUN FACTsThe platypus is a mammal.

Only two kinds of mammals lay eggs. The platypus

is one of them.

duck-billed platypus

E

MA

NU

ELE

BIG

GI /

FLP

A /

MIN

DEN

PIC

TUR

ES (F

RO

G);

S

UZI

ESZ

TER

HA

S /

ALL

RIG

HTS

RES

ERV

ED (C

OV

ER)

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Hide-and-SeekCan you find the mossy frog in this picture?

GAME