National Geographic : 1994 Dec
Geoguide IN A MOST UNLIKELY ENCOUNTER A SLED DOG NEAR CHURCHILL, MANI TOBA, RECEIVES A WARM AND PLAYFUL EMBRACE FROM A POLAR BEAR. THE CAPACITY FOR PLAY AMONG ANIMALS INCLUDES A SEEMINGLY ENDLESS ARRAY OF CAPTIVATING AND USEFUL BEHAVIORS. THE MAP OF THE WORLD AT RIGHT HOLDS CLUES TO A HIDDEN MESSAGE FOR YOUNGSTERS, WHICH THEY CAN SOLVE BY COMPLETING THE FIRST ACTIVITY BELOW. Animals AT Play * Children can decipher a secret message and sharpen their knowledge of the world at the same time by playing a game that uses some of the creatures in the article "Animals at Play." Here's how: First, make a list of these animals: orangutan, ele phant, ibex, gray wolf, moun tain gorilla, Japanese macaque, ring-tailed lemur, dol asian crane, raven, gr mountain goat, and m iguana. Next, find oul each animal lives by r captions for the photo which each animal is s Then, write the name places next to the app NGSCARTOGRAPHICDIVISION; RICHARDTHOMPSON r animals. Next (using an atlas), locate each of those places on the world map above, and write the letter you find printed there phin, Eur- next to the name of the animal izzly bear, on the list. Finally, arrange the marine animal names in alphabetical or t where der. Their location letters from eading the the map will reveal a message. graphs in * Pet owners can see many of the shown. animal behaviors described on softhe pages 14 and 15 by watching ropriate their cats and dogs. What kinds of play do pets display? How might such play benefit them? What is the difference between an animal's fear face and its play face? * When animals give invitations to play, they use nonverbal cues-a wolf's bow, a cat's jump, a dog's roll onto its back. What nonverbal gestures can you think of that humans use to show playfulness - such as wink ing or grinning? *Wolf cubs spend hours chasing and frolicking over the same ground, getting a feel for their habitat. Human youngsters also chase and frolic over home areas-woods, a backyard, a city park. Can you map a favor ite play area-with landmarks such as hiding places or trees SROSI for climbing? NORBERTROWING USE THE GEOGUIDE PAGE ALONG WITH THE ARTICLE "ANIMALS AT PLAY" IN THIS ISSUE TO HELP CAPTURE THE INTEREST OF YOUNG READERS AND STIMULATE DISCUSSION WITH THEM. GEOGUIDE IS FEATURED FOUR TIMES A YEAR.