National Geographic Magazine

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FROM the EDITOR

ANIMALS • “Off the shore of Lord Howe Island, I found this perfectly camouflaged GREAT SEAHORSE, who captivated me with its intriguing bloodred eyes and knowing expression.”

CULTURE • “The stunning harmony between the robe and the blue-hour sky created a BREATHTAKING VISUAL, surpassing my initial vision and elevating the moment.”

ENVIRONMENT • “The world of NOCTURNAL INSECTS is both modest and spectacular, as earthly as it is magical and as mundane as it is special.”

ADVENTURE • “On the first day, we sat at the foot of the glacier and ate together. We didn’t all speak the same language, but that SHARED EXPERIENCE provided a large part of the conversation.”

CONTRIBUTORS

SECRETS OF THE PENGUINS • They’re evolutionary marvels that survive some of the most inhospitable conditions on our planet. Now researchers are discovering new explanations for why—and finding that the incredible penguin has a lot to teach us about resilience in an ever changing world.

1 How Penguins Embrace Their Urge to Explore • For more than 60 million years, penguins have been driven to reach beyond their boundaries. Today they continue to surface in unlikely places.

2 How Penguins Learn to Live on the Edge • To survive in the Galápagos Islands, the world’s rarest penguins are making shrewd use of unique adaptations and incredible behaviors.

3 How Penguins’ Superpowers Really Work • Penguins don’t just survive but many also thrive in harsh conditions. That’s because they have a waterproof layer of feathers, cold-resistant veins, and unique voice calls. Here are some anatomical advantages of these aquatic creatures.

4 How Penguins Push the Limits of Their Capabilities • New observations reveal the extent to which emperor penguins employ remarkable strategies—like jumping off an Antarctic ice cliff.

How Visiting THE TITANIC GOT A LOT SIMPLER • Fresh advances in 3D scanning technology are making it possible to explore some of the hardest-to-reach and most fragile sites on Earth.

REDISCOVERING THE ANCIENT EMPIRE THAT HISTORY FORGOT • They fought the Egyptians and sacked Babylon. They built elaborate cities across modern Türkiye and beyond. And then the Hittites vanished, lost to history for thousands of years. But today new discoveries are restoring the legend of a forgotten superpower.

SURVIVAL in the TREETOPS • These days, slow-moving sloths are masters at conserving energy and hiding from predators in high branches. But it wasn’t always this way. Tree sloths evolved from larger and speedier ground-dwelling creatures. New science reveals what those ancients looked like and how they relate to modern sloths.

Unbeatable BEETLES • These resilient, soil-dwelling flesh-eaters might have a few things to teach humans.

PADDLING AMERICA’S GRANDEST WATER TRAIL • A season on the Northern Forest Canoe Trail—stretching from the Adirondacks to northern Maine—reveals fresh possibilities for an ancient route.

Who GETS TO DIG for DINOSAURS? • The French countryside is rich in fossilized eggs, footprints, and bones. A battle is raging over who is allowed to hunt for them.

AUSTRALIA’S GREAT BIG CAMEL CONUNDRUM • Imported from the Middle East and Asia in the 19th century, camels now thrive in Australia’s arid outback. But drought and climate change are raising tough questions about whether they belong.

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