National Geographic Russia in October

There are mysterious animals on the cover of the October issue of National Geographic Russia – a type nobody has ever seen. There are giant marsupials the size of a cow with powerful legs, a proboscidiform nose and a long tongue like a giraffe’s. They are called marsupial tapirs, and they once inhabited Australia. This country was once literally teeming with amazing giants – kangaroos standing over two meters tall, giant flightless birds, wombats the size of a rhinoceros and marsupial lions. What happened to the megafauna of the Green Continent, and why? The investigative work of National Geographic Russia’s correspondents brings us closer to an answer.

Also in this issue:

The birthplace of kung fu. For more than 1,500 years the Shaolin Temple has jealously guarded its secrets. Today, in an age of commercialization, are its monks ready to disclose the secrets of kung fu to the uninitiated?

Treasure Island. Members of an expedition to one of the most remote and inaccessible places on earth – the Foja Mountains on the island of New Guinea – discovered exotic plants and unique animals not found anywhere else in the world.

The Yaroslavl tragedy. During excavations at the Yaroslavl Kremlin, researchers discovered several mass graves dating back to the 13th century. Why did the residents of the capital of this independent fiefdom die, and what is the story that history has concealed?

The new issue will go on sale September 28.