National Geographic Kids USA - September 2017

THE WILDLIFE

WARRIOR
Juliana Machado Ferreira works to save
animals stolen from Brazil’s wild. She
recalls rescuing birds seized by smugglers.
“When I worked with an organization called SOS
Fauna, we rescued blue-fronted Amazon parrots that
had been stolen as chicks and were being transported
by traffickers. You could tell the birds hadn’t been
well cared for. After we eventually returned them to
their natural habitat, we watched as they tasted the flowers,
seeds, and fruits of their home. Over time their health improved
dramatically. When you rescue a mistreated animal and return it to
where it belongs, the change in them is unbelievable.
“Moments like these are why I work to combat the illegal buying and selling
of wildlife. I want to help police fight the criminals and encourage lawmakers
to pass laws against these terrible crimes.”

STUDY:

Environmental studies,

zoology, and geography

WATCH: Rio

READ: Forbidden Creatures:

Inside the World of Animal

Smuggling and Exotic

Pets by Peter Laufer

WANT TO BE

A WILDLIFE WARRIOR?

“Remember that wild animals

aren’t pets; they need to be

free. Every animal has the

right to exist and fulfill its

role in nature.”

THE PLANT BIOLOGIST

Mark Olson studies plants in the jungles

of Africa and Central America. He talks

about soaring in a paraglider over the

treetops of Mexico’s forests.

“Once as I was flying across the treetops of one

of Mexico’s tropical dry forests, a white-throated

magpie-jay—a crow-like bird with a long tail—

followed behind me, screeching the whole way!

Unfamiliar insects buzz around you, and unusual sce

fill the air. It’s another world in the tree canopy.

“I fly in a paraglider to study the treetops, which

can be terrifying. But it’s helpful to get a bird’s-eye

view. Up here you can see animals that you’d never

spot from the ground. Sometimes curious animals

check me out. You can walk through a rain forest

and think it looks like every other rain forest. But

when you identify the plants on the ground and

spend time in the treetops you realize how unique

each jungle is.”

STUDY:Botany

(the study of plants), micro-

biology, and mathematics

WATCH: The documentary

What Plants Talk About

READ: Living Sunlight:

How Plants Bring the Earth

to Life by Molly Bang and

Penny Chisholm

WANT TO BE

A PLANT BIOLOGIST?

MACHADO FERREIRA

PREPARES TO WEIGH

AND HYDRATE A BIRD

IN BAHIA, BRAZIL.

JULIANA MACHADO

FERREIRA HOLDS

A GREEN-WINGED

SALTATOR.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS 29

MARK OLSON SCALES

A TREE IN MEXICO’S

SIERRA DE LOS TUXTLAS

TROPICAL RAIN FOREST.

NOW

SHOWING!

natgeokids.com/jungle

HYACINTH MACAW

SCARLET MACAW

“Next time you’re in the

woods,reallylook at

the plants.For example,

how manydifferent leaf

shapescan you find?”

BLUE-FRONTED

AMAZON PARROTS

HAVE BLUE FEATHERS

ABOVE THEIR BEAKS.

WATCH EXPLORER

ANDRÉS RUZO

TREK THROUGH A

RAIN FOREST.