National Geographic magazine, July 2025 Issue

Why nature’s least appreciated creatures are practically perfect. National Geographic stories take you on a journey that's always enlightening, often surprising and unfailingly fascinating. This month–why nature’s least appreciated creatures are practically perfect.

In this issue: The astonishing superpowers of nature’s most unloved animals — From their odd appendages to their unsavory hygiene, certain animals suffer an image problem. But their awkward attributes can be their biggest advantages.; Why this photographer made a camera lens out of glacial ice — Tristan Duke uses Arctic ice and a unique technique to offer a fresh perspective on a world transformed by climate change.; Can the Fulani—Africa’s great nomadic people—save their way of life? — Across the continent, thousands of Fulani people are holding fast to their ancient customs—while reshaping their traditions for a new age.; How one woman is inspiring a new future for Africa’s nomadic herders — When communities are constantly on the move, they lose political power. In Senegal, Awa Sow has radical ideas to change all that.; Transylvania may hold the secret to a long and happy life — This region with one of the best known names on Earth is also one of the least understood. Could their ancestral way of life be the key to tranquility?; The city of 700 languages — New York is the most linguistically diverse city on the planet. Can it stay that way?; The improbable city where ice cream is king — In one of the world’s hottest places, farmers are seizing an unlikely opportunity for reinvention.; There’s a 10,000-person wait list to search for riches in London’s Thames — Mudlarking had long been a niche hobby. Then influencers discovered it.; How conservation icon David Attenborough holds onto hope — In a new film, the legendary 99-year-old confronts the destruction of the ocean—to inspire us to save it.; How a supertiny crustacean makes life work in the Southern Ocean — For the first time, Antarctic krill have been found on seafloor vents. One scientist is working to figure out what they are doing there.; Inside the foundry forging $15,000 artisanal samurai swords — It can take more than a year to make a single razor-sharp katana. In Japan, business is booming for the few remaining smiths who know how to do it.