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Winter Jackal Image | National Geographic Your Shot Photo of the DayA jackal scares away a scavenger bird in this National Geographic Your Shot Photo of the Day.
Meet the First New Canine Found in 150 YearsJuly 30, 2015 – Golden jackals of Africa and Eurasia are actually two distantly related species—and one is a new species of wolf, a new study shows.
Watch Ostrich 'Chase' Cyclists Down the RoadMarch 08, 2016 – Scene in South Africa is highly unusual, says biologist.
Meet the Writer: Andrew McCarthyFebruary 06, 2014 – “When I first met Andrew McCarthy, he had never been published,” recounts National Geographic Traveler Editor-in-Chief Keith Bellows. “He convinced me to take a chance on him.” The wager paid off. For the past several years, McCarthy has been raking in accolades and awards for his distinctive storytelling and delivering brilliant prose again and again for Traveler, where the actor-director is now an editor at large. Here’s a brief peek at the life and times of Andrew McCarthy.
Nat Geo Kids
MeerkatThere are few animals on Earth who work as well together as meerkats. These squirrel-size members of the mongoose family live in groups as large as 40, and everyone in the mob participates in gathering food, keeping a look out for predators, and taking care of the babies. Meerkats live in the deserts and grasslands of the southern tip of Africa. They are extremely cute, with bushy, brown-striped fur, a small, pointed face, and large eyes surrounded by dark patches. They average about 20 inches (50 centimeters) long, including their tail. These extremely social animals live together in burrows, which they dig with their long, sharp claws. Living underground keeps mob members safe from predators and out of the harsh African heat. These burrows can be 16 feet (5 meters) long and contain multiple entrances, tunnels, and rooms. A group will use up to five separate burrows at a time. Meerkats only go outside during the daytime. Each morning, as the sun comes up, the mob emerges and begins looking for food. They use their keen sense of smell to locate their favorite foods, which include beetles, caterpillars, spiders, and scorpions. They'll also eat small reptiles, birds, eggs, fruit, and plants. Back at the burrow, several babysitters stay behind to watch over newborn pups. This duty rotates to different members of the mob, and a sitter will often go all day without food. The babysitters' main job is to protect pups from meerkats in rival mobs, who will kill the babies if they can. While the rest of the mob forages for food, one or more meerkats, called a sentry, will find a high point, like a termite mound, and perch on their back legs, scanning the sky and desert for predators like eagles, hawks, and jackals. A sentry who senses danger will let out a high-pitched squeal, sending the mob scrambling for cover. Meerkats dig safe places called bolt-holes throughout their foraging area, where they can hide in an emergency. If caught in the open by a predator, a meerkat will try to look fierce, lying on its back and showing its teeth and claws. If a group is confronted, the meerkats will stand together, arching their backs, raising their hair, and hissing. This sometimes fools an attacker into thinking they are a single large, vicious animal. Meerkats are abundant throughout their range and are not considered threatened or endangered. But they live a very difficult life in the African desert, constantly threatened by hungry predators, rival meerkats, drought, and burrow-flooding rainstorms.Beautiful RuahaDecember 06, 2012 – Dear Maxine, Hodi! Hello there! How are you? I am still in Tanzania and will remain here for quite some time. I know that I have a habit of hopping from one country to another, but despite my continual hopping around, I still find myself deep inside the endless dry miles of central Tanzania. This…
This Week in Science: Jackalopes and our Inner VirusesMarch 08, 2012 – The video of my recent appearance on This Week in Science is on YouTube now. I turn up to talk about viruses at 42:50, as Kirsten Stanford and Justin Jackson splash freaky images of jackalopes, tree men, and other virus-related things. Check it out.
Dr. Kiki's Science Hour video is up. Jackalopes, zombie ants, evolution's odometer, and more!April 01, 2011 – Brian Malow and I talked yesterday about some of my favorite things on the latest episode of Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour–including the evolution odometer. You can watch it on Youtube, or you can head over to Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour site to download the video or audio. (The Skype goes berserk briefly, but we get […]
