National Geographic Magazine - UK

What's inside the yellow box? Amazing discoveries and experiences await you in every issue of National Geographic magazine.

FROM the EDITOR

FROM the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY CEO

OUR WORLD • BEHIND THE SCENES WITH NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

IN FOCUS • JUST IN FROM OUR PHOTOGRAPHERS

ALPHA FEMALES REIGN SUPREME IN MEERKAT WORLD • As a corner of Africa heats up, new research shows how the future of the species rests with powerful matriarchs making tough choices for survival.

HOW ALPHA FEMALES RULE • A dominant female meerkat often leads the family, but in larger groups, her subordinates do the bulk of the work: babysitting her pups, maintaining burrows, and protecting the family against predators and rival meerkats.

What Should I Do With THIS ANCIENT MAYA POT? • When a relative died, I was given an extraordinary artifact—and a head-spinning journey down a 25-year ethical rabbit hole.

‘THERE IS NO GOING BACK’ • A year after historic fires scorched some 60 square miles of Los Angeles and displaced 100,000 people, many of the survivors are adjusting to a new kind of normal while holding on to what they found—in their homes and in themselves—after the flames had passed.

‘YOU CAN TURN A CRISIS INTO AN OPPORTUNITY’ • With more places than ever grappling with storms, floods, fires, and other natural disasters, a new cadre of specialists around the world is looking for smart opportunities amid the destruction.

Building Back Better

Hiding Resilience in Plain Sight

Rethinking Regional Defenses

Creating a New Standard

ELEPHANTS Talk With Their TRUNKS • A new study shows that they exhibit communication traits once thought unique to primates.

HOW TO BUILD THE PERFECT HIKE • Around the world, trail designers are quietly employing surprising techniques to engineer awe. You’ve probably felt it without even knowing why. Inside the creative science that’s transforming your time outside.

THE NEW RULES OF TRAILBUILDING • Professional trailbuilders deploy their knowledge of psychology, geography, and geology to lead hikers on an immersive, ecologically friendly journey. Their best routes feel as if they are part of the landscape.

HIT THE TRAIL • Over nearly 30 years, Jed Talbot has worked on some of the finest hiking paths in the world. These are some of his favorites.

The Industrial WASTE SITE THAT GLITTERS Like a GLACIER • In northwest India, a field full of marble debris has an otherworldly allure.

DECODING THE LOST SCRIPTS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD • Across the globe, a race is under way to crack some of the last mysterious forms of writing that have never been translated. Here’s how new technology and fresh breakthroughs might help scholars solve the world’s most vexing puzzles and rewrite history.

LANDS OF FORGOTTEN WRITING • Around a dozen dead writing systems remain a mystery today. Philologists, who specialize in written language, are actively working to decipher these five scripts.

BRINGING DEAD WORDS TO LIFE

THE COMPASS THAT WORKS Where Compasses Don’t