WILL BURRARD-LUCAS / NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY (SERVAL, BOTH); G FIUME / GETTY IMAGES (ROBLES WITH
MANTIS); H GALLINAGO_MEDIA / SHUTTERSTOCK (MANTIS); LUCAS BUSTAMANTE (FERNANDA)
MANTIS
Washington, D.C.
TORTOISE
Fernandina
Island, Galápagos
Islands, Ecuador
SERVAL
Serengeti
National Park,
Tanz ania
Washington, D.C.
At the top of the ninth inning, Washington
Nationals center fielder Victor Robles ran
onto the baseball field with an extra player:
a Chinese mantis sitting on his hat!
Once Robles realized the mantis was
aboard, he treated it like a teammate.
When the Nationals made a play, Robles
held out his index finger toward each of his
fellow outfielders to signal that they’d gotten
one player out. Then he’d give the same
signal to the mantis.
It makes sense the critter felt at home
at a pro baseball field, entomologist Gavin
Svenson says. “Mantises eat the insects
attracted to the bright lights in stadiums,”
he says. “This mantis must’ve gotten used
to human activity by living in the dugout.”
The mantis stayed on Robles’ cap until
the end of the game, but it wasn’t a star
player. The Nationals lost 7-5 to the
Philadelphia Phillies. Maybe the insect
was a Phillies fan? —Neil C. Cavanaugh
Fernandina Island,
Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
Fernandina giant tortoises hadn’t been
seen in over a hundred years. Tortoise
species throughout the Galápagos
Islands had been hunted by pirates,
whalers, and traders, and volcanic erup-
tions on Fernandina Island caused that
population to seemingly disappear.
Scientists thought the Fernandina
species was extinct—but then they
found tortoise poop on the island.
After two days of hiking across the
volcanic island’s lava flows—eureka! A
team of rangers discovered a long-lost
Fernandina tortoise, which they named
(what else?) Fernanda. “I couldn’t
believe my eyes,” says Washington Tapia,
a conservation scientist who led the
expedition. “It was one of the best
moments of my life.”
The team brought Fernanda to a care
and breeding center on a nearby island
to keep her healthy. Tapia and the team
plan to return to Fernandina soon to look
for other members of her species—
hopefully a male. Maybe this species isn’t
lost after all. —Bethany Augliere
Tort
ois
ePUT ME IN,
COACH!
Ma
ntis
‘Pla
ys’Gian
t
Fernandina
Comeba
ck^ Critt
er:
MAY 2022 • NAT GEO KIDS (^11)
Check out more stories, tips, and
crafts to help the planet!
natgeokids.com/planet
Base
ball
long tIme,
no see!
Experts
think Fernanda
is about a hundred
years old.
CHINESE MANTIS
FERNANDA