Stormbreaker
Author: Anthony HorowitzAlex Rider never knew his parents and was brought up by his uncle, Ian Rider. Alex was told that Ian Rider was a banker and as you probably know, 3:00 a.m. is not a good time to be woken up, but who can blame the authorities when Ian suddenly dies in a car crash? The mystery of the bullet holes on the side of his car seen at the funeral brings Alex’s attention to the Royal and General Bank, where his uncle works. It turns out that the bank is nothing but a cover for MI6! Confused and reluctant, Alex is blackmailed into accepting the mission that killed Ian. Herod Sayle has developed a new branch of computers called Stormbreakers and he’s been acting as though he’s got something to hide. MI6 has reason to believe he is responsible for the death of Ian Rider and Alex has got nothing but a bunch of cool gadgets to defeat Sayle. Can he find out what’s wrong with the Stormbreakers, or will his first mission be his last?
KARAN ABROLGrade 6 Sec A
Solar Eclipse-Sunny Boy's PeekabooooooThe solar eclipse of 22nd July 2009 is a memorable one as it was the longest total solar eclipse during the 21st century, not to be surpassed until June 2132. It lasted a maximum of 6 minutes and 39 seconds off the coast of South east Asia, attracting tourist interest in Eastern China, India and Nepal. Totality was visible in many large cities, including, Bhopal, Varanasi, Patna, Guwahati, in India and Wuxi, Huzhou, Suzhou, Jiaxing Shanghai, in China. According to NASA, the Japanese island Kitaio Jima was predicted to have the best viewing conditions featuring both longer viewing time (being the closest point of land to the point of greatest eclipse) and lower cloud cover statistics than all of continental Asia.
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Media POD
The Tasmanian Wolf
The last Tasmanian Tiger, or Thylacine, known to have existed died in the Hobart Zoo, in Tasmania, Australia, on September 7th, 1936. Despite being the last of its kind, the animal (named “Benjamin”) likely died due to neglect after being locked out of its sheltered quarters during extreme weather.
Although commonly referred to as ‘tigers’, and despite having the look of a canine, the Thylacine isn’t remotely related to cats or dogs. Rather, it was the largest carnivorous marsupial of modern times, meaning it carried its young in a pouch. Its closest living relative is the Tasmanian Devil.
The biggest cause of their extinction in the wild was a massive hunting campaign instituted by the Tasmanian government from 1888 to 1909, justified because the Thylacines were believed to be a threat to sheep and hens. The last known wild Tasmanian Tiger was killed by a farmer named Wilf Batty in 1930, after spotting the animal around his hen house.
The Quagga 
The Quagga was a unique variety of Plains Zebra, marked by having stripes only on the front of its body, with hair color transitioning toward a light brown or tan along its rear and underbelly, until becoming white along its legs. This picture represents the only Quagga ever to have been photographed alive, taken at the London Zoo in 1870.
Its unique hide made the Quagga a target for hunters and poachers, and the last known wild Quagga was probably killed in the late 1870’s. The species went extinct on August 12th, 1883, when the last specimen died at a zoo in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
The Passenger Pigeon
The story of the Passenger Pigeon is one of the most tragic extinction stories in modern times. As recently as around 200 years ago they weren’t anywhere near extinction. In fact, they were actually the most common bird in North America, and some reports counted single flocks numbering in the billions.
During some migrations, the flocks flying overhead would stretch for over a mile and could take several hours to pass. It would have been impossible to imagine a North American skyline without them. Yet somehow the species went from being one of the most abundant birds in the world to extinction in only about 100 years. What happened?
Colonial hunters happened. The pigeon meat was commercialized and recognized as cheap food, especially for slaves and the poor, which led to a catastrophic hunting campaign on a massive scale. Furthermore, due to the large size of their flocks, the birds were seen as a threat to farmers. In fact, in 1703 the Catholic bishop of Quebec actually excommunicated the entire species.
The last known Passenger Pigeon, named “Martha”, died in captivity on September 1st, 1914, in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1896, the last flock of 250,000 birds were slaughtered by hunters despite the knowledge that it was the last flock of that size left.
The Golden Toad
The first recorded account of the Golden Toad was by herpetologist Jay Savage in 1966, and the last sighting of the species was made in 1989. The toad, showcased by its brilliant golden orange colorization, was native to the tropical cloud forests which surround Monteverde, Costa Rica.
Their extinction symbolizes a large scale decline in amphibian numbers worldwide over the last several decades, which has likely been caused by global warming and climate change. Australian biologist , Tim Flannery has described the extinction of the Golden Toad to be the first demise of a species due primarily to global warming.
Anusha Ramji
Grade 6A
Media Pod
