Lizzy and the Riddler pt. 6

Tyrone, Jack and Lizzy were dropped off back at the airport after receiving crucial news from a mysterious squirrel in a limousine.

“Where's my package?” I snapped, surprised that this was the first thing to come out of my mouth.

The squirrel chuckled and studied us. She leaned over and grabbed a cardboard box. She tossed it over at my feet. It was my package and it was open!

“Hey! You opened my mail!” I yelled. “That's a federal offense . . . I think!

The squirrel smiled, “Oh I didn't open it. Someone else did.”

“Who are you?” asked Jack, “what do you want?”

“We didn't expect you to be joining us,” she replied, “but then we didn't expect Lizzy to ask for help.”

Jack smirked, “What can I say? Liz is stubborn . . . but then again so am I.”

Jerk, I thought but right now I was actually thankful he was here, for once.

“It's Lizzy,” I corrected him, again.

“Now I apologize for the misunderstanding,” the squirrel continued. “We had to examine your package.”

“So you sent Liz on a hunt to stall for time,” Jack interrupted as I blurted out my question.

“What could . . . my package possible have that you would be interested in?” I demanded. “Who are you? Where are we going?”

The squirrel completely ignored my questions and glanced down at her laptop.

“Our company got infiltrated last month by a hooded figure.” She continued, “They sent warning messages to several key members.”

“So, what does that have to do with us?” Jack interrupted, again.

“The hooded intruder also stole some important data from our facility,” she added. “They plan on sending it to your boss.”

“Mr. Smiley?” I asked, “Why?”

“I can't answer that. I only came to tell you the reason why we took your package,” she announced.

Suddenly the limousine came to a stop, Jack looked out the window and found out that we were back at the airport. The driver got out and opened the back door gesturing to us to get out. It was clear that the squirrel was done talking. Tyrone somehow slept soundly during the ride and didn't hear a thing until the car stopped. He kept muttering something about his bottle collection that somehow “got lost” in the airplane luggage. I was the last one out but before I went, I asked one more question.

“What organization did you come from?”

The squirrel looked up from her laptop and smiled.

“You'll know very soon,” she answered and then the limo took off.

Jack exchanged a few glances and wondered what to say to Mr. Smiley. We didn't say much until he showed up. Mr. Smiley walked across the parking lot and over to us.

“Sorry I was late,” he exclaimed, “there was this huge detour.”

He looked at us and somehow knew something was wrong.

“What's wrong?” he asked, as we all headed to the car.

“Uh . . . surprise!” I exclaimed, handing him the mangled package. “I got uh . . . a gift for you for . . . actually it's more like a thank you gift for letting me join the Animal Adventures Inc.”

Mr. Smiley glanced down into the package.

“Thanks I've always wanted one of these!” He exclaimed, as they got into the car. “I know something's wrong Lizzy. Do you mind telling me what's bothering you?”

Jack and Lizzy exchanged a silent argument and finally told Mr. Smiley everything that had happened. Lizzy started with the missing package and the riddles and Jack ended with the mysterious organization and the intruder. Mr. Smiley listened carefully as he drove us to the News Incorporation.

“A squirrel you say?” he asked, as we entered the building.

“Yes.” I confirmed, “do you know her?”

I saw a flicker of recognition in his face then it was gone.

“No . . . I don't but Lizzy, we should do something about this,” he added.

“Like what?” I asked.

“If a hooded figure is out there and this organization . . .” he stated, “we need everyone on high alert.”

I nodded a little confused and watched as Mr. Smiley left quickly to his office. So that is why I have written this story viewers. You are all to be on the look out for this hooded figure. If you find anything please contact Mr. Smiley. Until next time, friends.

Written by: Lizzy the Lizard

Photographer: Daniel P. Smithwater

Edited by: Christian Ryan, Joy Hammond and Mr. Smiley

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The Chupacabra . . . Moving North?!?

Cows and chickens were recently killed and drained of blood at Mac Dee Dee's Organic Farm, alledgedly by the Chupacabra . . . but Chupacabra reports have never occured this far north! Continue reading to learn more about this discovery!

Many haven't heard about the creature focused in today's article, but many in the southern parts of the United States and places around Costa Rica and neighboring islands have, and they fear it greatly. What mysterious creature am I talking about? I'm talking about an elusive beast said to roam the aforementioned areas that sneaks into people's farm's . . . leaving nothing more than dead goats and other livestock, sucked dry with no blood remaining in their bodies. I'm talking about the dreaded Chupacabra!

The Chupacabra is Spanish for “goat sucker”. But what in the world is it? Well, for those of you who don't know, it's a cryptid (those are secretive animals, such as Big Foot and the Loch Ness Monster) that is believed to be rather dog or coyote-like in shape and body plan, but it is said to mostly covered in sparse hair. Unlike members of the canine family known to science, the Chupacabra is said to feed on the blood of livestock in the darkness of night (fortunately, it doesn't attack humans). Like Big Foot and the Loch Ness Monster, Chupacabra sightings have been numerous over the years; there have been sightings dating back to the late 20^th century and the most northern ones taking place in the southwestern United States (specifically Texas) . . . until now!

Just last Thursday night, the local farmer Mac Dee Dee at Mac Dee Dee's Organic Farm experienced something beyond bizarre. Yep, you guessed it: my trusty, junior photographer and I went over to the farm to get an exclusive interview with Mac Dee Dee. Upon arriving, Daniel and I were astounded by what we saw: five dead cows were lying in the pasture, dead. Something happened with the chickens too: at least a dozen chickens were lying on the ground, blood sucked out of their bodies through small holes on their abdomens. Mac Dee Dee is quoted for saying, “I heard some noise last night from the cows, and later the chickens. They seemed to be in a panic. I figured they were just spooked by a noisy car driving past with the boombox on too loud, so I went back to sleep . . . [but once I] woke up, I found otherwise.” He went on to explain that he nearly fainted from shock when he discovered what happened to his cattle and chickens. He called his wife, Jules to come have a look. “I'm just glad the cows and chickens that died were meat animals, meaning we were going to kill and sell the meat anyway.”

“We had something like this happen to a farm belonging to a neighbor when we were living in Texas,” Jules says. “Two cows were sucked dry of blood and they were sure it was the Chupacabra that did it. Our cows that were killed show the telltale signs of a Chupacabra attack, but Chupacabra attacks have never been reported this far north!”

Jules was right. A Chupacabra attack in New York (the farm's not too far from Animal Adventures Inc.) is unheard of until now. Mac Dee Dee took Daniel and I to see the dead cows. Man! Did they smell! But I saw what I was looking for: a pair of holes – bite marks – in the cows' necks where the blood was drained out. Daniel took the photo above.

So does the Chupacabra exist? Is it possible something else is responsible for the livestocks' deaths? I put that question to the resident zoologist at AAI., Dr. Arizona Stevenson. When asked what she thought about the Chupacabra, she was quoted for saying, “Many people have seen the creature over the years. Unlike many other cryptids, the Chupacabra has allegedly been photographed by people who've claimed to have seen it.” At this point in the conversation, Arizona brought out a photograph of what was supposedly the dead corpse of the Chupacabra. It showed a dog-like creature with no fur. For a second, I thought why on earth people could doubt the existence of such a creature that has been thoroughly photographed; and not just blurry photographs either! It was a clear picture. Arizona asked us what we thought it was and Daniel and I both replied that it must be the Chupacabra. Arizona shook her head. “Actually, that's what the people who photographed it thought it was too. But it turns out that this is really a coyote with a condition known as mange.” The scientist told me that mange is a disease that some dogs catch and it results in the animal loosing its fur. Without the fur, it looks extremely different! “Many alleged Chupacabra sightings are actually of a coyote or other member of the canine family with mange.”

Of course, I respect Dr. Arizona's opinion and to an extent, I agree with her. But, you also have to remember that not only are there other Chupacabra sightings that aren't so easily shrugged off as coyotes with mange, but also the numerous livestock killings. Whether or not the Chupacabra exists, something is either snatching away and/or killing livestock. I for one contend that the Chupacabra exists, but we've yet to find it. After all, we don't know everything about the world we live in.

“I definitely believe in the Chupacabra,” says Mac Dee Dee. “Even though there hasn't been any real physical evidence for it [yet], as the old saying goes, 'Absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence'.”

Written by: Mr. Smiley

Photographer: Daniel P. Smithwater

Edited by: Christian Ryan, Joy Hammond

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Rerun Article: The Things We Do For Balls!

The balloon seller, the customers, the balloon cart, AND Buddy went up high into the sky, yes, that's Buddy hanging by his collar (thank goodness he was alright!)

The account you’re about to read sounds pretty ordinary at first, but believe me, I thought this was a pretty remarkable story: one morning in the park, Earl Bradley was walking his dog, Buddy, a Black Labrador. Now a preteen girl named Sarah Bus Stop Guy was rolling a ball around in the park that greatly resembled Buddy’s favorite ball at home. Buddy thought that Sarah’s ball was his own ball so of course he ran after it. Earl tried to grab hold of his leash but he missed, and as he later found out, he was glad he missed! “I really tried to catch Buddy before he got into trouble,” Earl said, “but he is always way too fast for me when he sees something he wants, in this case, his ball. When Buddy wants something, nothing can get in the way!” Then the trouble started as the ball rolled around a balloon sales man and some paying customers. As Buddy chased after the ball, one of the customers saw Buddy was loose and grabbed his collar. Big mistake! While Buddy ran around the balloon cart, the sales man and the customers, Buddy accidentally tripped over a weight that kept the balloon cart on the ground and the cart, the people and Buddy started to rise into the sky! Earl forgot his phone at home so I loaned him mine (see now I’m a hero!). Earl quickly called 9-1-1 and the fire department, police, an ambulance truck, a helicopter flight squad and the Doggy Pants Society rushed to the scene. After it was all said and done, it took a whole 12 hours to get everybody safely down (it turned out the Doggy Pants Society just wanted to take a picture with Buddy and they left the scene). Boy, Buddy is one bad dog!

Written by: Mr. Smiley

Photographer: Daniel P. Smithwater

Edited by: Christian Ryan

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Written by: Mr. Smiley

Photographer: Daniel P. Smithwater

Edited by: Christian Ryan, Joy Hammond

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Next Article: The Chupacabra . . . Moving North?!?

Dino Park: Invader . . . Is It Worth It?

A screenshot from the game Dino Park: Invader, a game which could have been one of the best games ever created.

Several weeks ago, I wrote an article concerning a new game that just came out on May 21, 2014 called Dino Park: Invader, created by the computer game company Unimaginable ©. As I said in the previous article about the Dino Park: Invader, it's supposed to be an action-packed dinosaur adventure game where your character has to try and make it off the island alive. I especially was excited about the game because . . . you guessed it: the dinosaurs! Dinosaurs are awesome! Well, the game has been released and people were so excited about it, that they bought a copy of the game in droves. They knew they were going to love it!

My trusty, junior photographer, Daniel P. Smithwater, Lizzy the Lizard and I also bought a copy of the game. I was so excited to finally be able to play it . . . when my computer crashed! So I rebooted my computer and tried it again. But it crashed! So I tried it a third time and it crashed again! I was getting really disappointed. So I had our Animal Adventures Inc. computer specialist, Mango the orangutan come and take a look. He figured out that I couldn't press any of the keys on the keyboard for the first few seconds while the game was loading up. Go figure!

While Mango was checking out my computer, Lizzy phoned a few friends who had also bought the game; some of Lizzy's friends were having trouble with their computers too! Mango told me that my computer wasn't the problem – the CD-ROM itself was. Oh well. Fortunately, I was able to play the game . . . finally! I wasn't able to finish it before I had to get the article you're reading done, so I'll summarize the game experience based on what I've played so far, what other people have told me and what the game's head developer Tyson Cortes has to say.

First of all, you might recall from the previous article we wrote about the game was that the game was originally pitched to have 16 exciting levels. Well, there aren't quite as many levels as initially planned! You can look at the list of the levels supposed to be in the game by clicking this link, and below you can see the levels that made it into the game:

• The Beach
• The Open Woodland
• The Jungle
• The Jungle #2
• The Worker Village
• The Laboratories
• The Mountain Forest
• The High Cliffs
• The Communication Center
• The Race to the Helipad

Six levels were taken out! Many levels were combined in the game's final cut. For instance, a level known as The Sauropod Valley was mixed into the Open Woodland level. Also, I and many other people had to work through a few more computer crashes to play! Fortunately, I didn't have any more after I finished The Beach level.

The 3D environments in the game are very nice, but you can't always enjoy them. In one level – The High Cliffs – there's this overlook where you're supposed to be able to look over the edge of the cliff and admire the view. I didn't get to that point in the game yet, but for many people, their computers crashed when they tried to look!

Each level also has a certain amount of puzzles to solve; some are cool, but others are so many and close to each other that they get kind of annoying.

Some of my friends who played the game found it hard to move Annie (the only playable character in the game) around without killing her. Sometimes a fall of only three feet would drop her health level to zero. I never had that problem though.

Sooner or later, I just had to mention the dinosaurs that the game features. The original pitch for the game was for there to be 27 dinosaurs that you'd have to encounter throughout the game. You can see that list here. And you guessed it, the number of dinosaurs is far less in the actual game:

• Tyrannosaurus rex
• Velociraptor
• Triceratops
• Brachiosaurus
• Parasaurolophus
• Acrocanthosaurus
• Albertosaurus
• Stegosaurus
• Sinornithosaurus
• Spinosaurus
• Ceratosaurus

Only 10 of the original dinosaurs remain in the game. A new one – Parasaurolophus – was added, however. Now, according to Tyson, the different dinosaur individuals were supposed to have different “emotions”; I'm not talking about emotions like happy, sad or embarrassed though, I'm talking about ones like: hungry, territorial, placid, sleepy and etc. But there are only two in the game: a combination of territorial/hungry (for carnivores) and placid (for herbivores).

Now about the graphics of the dinosaurs – they move pretty unrealistically. Most of them walk almost as if they're on stilts! Their legs are stiff and there's no knee to speak of. However, there are some positives concerning the dinosaurs in the game: they can surprise you when they're on the hunt. Raptors will work as a pack to bring you down, Ceratosaurus ambushes from the shadows, Sinornithosaurus tries to attack you from the trees and Tyrannosaurus and Acrocanthosaurus are better at strategy hunting than you might expect!

So why was the game so buggy and worse than it was supposed to be? Well, I put that question to the game's developer, who's quoted for saying, “Dino Park: Invader was supposed to be one of the greatest games ever created. It was supposed to combine great storytelling with wonderful graphics. As we kept telling the public about the game to get their expectations high, we realized that we needed to continue pushing the envelope. It turned out that we'd pushed it too far; the deadline was close and we bug issues to resolve. Unfortunately, time wouldn't permit and we had to release a buggy game to the public.” He went on to explain that he wasn't too happy with the results, but he had no choice, as he didn't want to keep the public waiting. And concerning why so many levels and dinosaurs were missing, he said, “We were having more computer bug problems with those dinosaurs and levels than the ones we included in the game.”

I then asked him if he considered improving the game any and if he thought it would help the games now-infamous reputation. He smiled and shook his head. “I'm afraid not,” he explains, “you see, the game's already been officially released. The critics have said their final words and that's how the game will likely be remembered. However, we do plan to release patches for people to download. These patches will help fix up the game so it's less buggy.”

Despite his failure, Tyson doesn't feel as if it's a total loss. “Sure I wanted the game to be a success, but it wasn't. We failed. There's no denying that. I like to look at this as a learning experience. Unimaginable © learned from its mistakes and will do better with its next game.”

In closing, I decided to ask what game his company was going to create next. “The Lost World,” he says, “based on Arthur Connon Doyles book and the 1925 movie version and 2001 television version inspired by it. We're going to do something with dinosaurs once again, and this time we'll get it right!”

Written by: Mr. Smiley

Photographer: Daniel P. Smithwater

Edited by: Christian Ryan, Joy Hammond

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Lizzy and the Riddler: pt. 5

(Picture will be added as soon as possible)

Previously on Lizzy and the Riddler...

"To save your package, you must solve my riddles."

Lizzy is sent on a quest to retrieve her mail,

"That was a pretty good riddle, Liz" smiled the jackrabbit, "but not good enough!"

Having gained an unexpected ally...

"I. DO. NOT. NEED. YOUR. HELP!" Lizzy said, slowly. 

Jack blinked and smiled again.

"Too late," he added.

And his uncle Tyrone,

"WE ARE NOT HAVING FISH FOR BREAKFAST!" Shouted Jack, grabbing the pole in a tug of war.

"WELL WE ARE!" Yelled Tyrone, tugging the pole. " YOU'RE GOING TO BREAK MY 'LUCKY' POLE!"

What could possibly go wrong?

"You are close to the end of our little game. Just one more riddle, then you decided where to go next."

And now back to the story!

Jack and I hurry to the airport to get on flight eight to get back home. 

"Come on!" I yell, "we're going to miss it!"

We turn a corner and hurried down the aisles of chairs. 

"It did not help that your uncle decide to come at the last second!" I comment as we ran up to the line, "you are so lucky I could even get a ticket this late!"

Jack hopped alongside me in a huff.

"How was I suppose to know Tyrone was going to grab his whole bottle cap collection!" He argued.

"Well look who's talking!" yelled a smaller but much older rabbit with a straw hat, "you had like a million sample bottles of hair gel! Jackrabbits don't use hair gel!"

We finally made it onto the plane and the two rabbits were still at it as we sat down.

"Three small eight ounce bottles" Jack corrected, "and at any rate they are at least more productive then bottle caps that will end up in the trash one day soon!"

Tyrone jumped out of his seat.

"Why I . . . should let you know that, that bottle cap collection is older than me! I've been collecting them since I was a young'in."

I had just about enough of their arguing when the stewardess told everyone to take their seat and buckle up. About a half an hour into the flight, Tyrone fell asleep with loud snoring. 

"So what was the riddle again?" Jack asked, "What did you come up with?"

I took out the piece of paper and read: 

"You are close to the end of our little game. Just one more riddle, then you decided where to go next. I take all you give and surrender it under a red flag."

"I realized it was a mailbox" I commented, "and decided to return home."

Jack looked out the window and went silent for a moment.

"What is in the package?" He asked.

If I heard him, I was too busy focused on the riddle that I didn't respond. Who would want to take the package? What did they want? I could easily just buy another one but I was trying to save money. Well the plane tickets didn't help. 

Finally at around 9:00 p.m., we arrived back in New York. I called Mr. Smiley and asked if he wouldn't mind giving us a ride back to Animal Adventures Incorporation since my car was still back there. When we left the building, a guy in a suit and cool shades was holding up a sign for us. We followed him and saw a white limousine outside. 

"Wow I did not expect him to do this." I stammered, "this is a little too much."

 "I wonder what Jack's apartment looks like these days. I bet he still leaves his dirty clothes on the floor." Tyrone grinned. 

"Tyrone!" Jack shushed his uncle as we got inside. 

As the limo zoomed off, I started to think about home. I was glad to be back. I wondered if the package would be in the company mailbox or at my home mailbox. Tyrone looked out the window and made faces at the other cars. Apparently the windows were tinted because no one reacted to his strange expressions. Eventually he fell asleep in the comfy chair but not before making one last comment. 

"What a pretty fountain!" Tyrone exclaimed, before his eye lids fell.

Tyrone apparently got Jack's attention because Jack sat up straight and looked out the window . . . no the door.

"Fountain?" Jack repeated, confused.

He looked at me and then at the driver.

"Hey, we missed the turn!" Jack stated to the driver.

"I know what I'm doing!" The driver barked, "this is a short cut."

Jack looked at me worried. He leaned over to tell me something. I closed my eyes hoping I wouldn't hear what I knew he was going to say. 

"The doors are locked, Liz." Jack added in a whisper, "We're going in the opposite direction. There is no short cuts!"

I looked out the window. State park was 3,000 miles away from the AAI. . . . in the opposite direction. I didn't realize how dark the inside of the limo was until all the lights suddenly turned on. Jack flinched and I muffled a scream at the sudden appearance in front of us. Sitting just ahead of us was a squirrel with a laptop on their lap and an earpiece in their right ear. 

"You're correct, Mr Jackrabbit." The squirrel confirmed our last fear, "You're not going home, not yet."

To Be Continued! 

Written by: Lizzy the Lizard

Photographer: Daniel P. Smithwater

Edited by: Christian Ryan, Joy Hammond and Mr. Smiley

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Next Issue: Dino Park - Invader . . . Is It Worth It?

Dr. Steve's New Dinosaurs of 2014

Acrocanthosaurus and Ceratosaurus are the newest dinosaurs at Animal Adventures Inc. Keep reading to learn more about them.

The geneticist is at it again! Dr. Steve Stevenson, head of Animal Adventures Institute (AAI), his “second-in-command” Oliver Oviraptor and his other assistants have once again recreated new species of dinosaurs for Animal Adventures Inc. In this article, I wrote about how the institute's paleontological team headed by Dr. Samuel “Sammy” Adamson had retrieved several fossils of extinct dinosaurs from various locales around the world and brought them back to the institute. Most of the specimens didn't yield dinosaur DNA for cloning, so they were sent to various museums. Two dinosaur specimens however did yield DNA and over the past several months, Dr. Steve and the others were able to successfully clone, hatch and rear two species of dinosaurs!

When I heard the news . . . you guessed it, my trusty, junior photographer, Daniel P. Smithwater and I went to AAI. to have a chat with the scientist about his latest “creations”. When asked about them, he was quoted for saying, “Well, I don't normally like to use the word 'creations' to refer to the creatures I've bio-engineered from extinction. That's because technically, I didn't create them. God did that 6,000 years ago. He created dinosaurs and everything else in the universe (along with the universe itself) out of nothing but nothing. All I'm doing is using genetic information that's already been created to recreate a creature that's been extinct for at least hundreds of years.”

Dr. Steve's new creatures are two species of theropod dinosaurs called Acrocanthosaurus atokensis and Ceratosaurus nasicornis. Theropods were the group of dinosaurs that contained two-legged and carnivorous dinosaurs (though some theropods were herbivores or omnivorous). “We were really excited about recreating these two dinosaur species,” Dr. Steve says. “The last new large carnivorous dinosaur we cloned was Carnotaurus. Since that time, we've only cloned herbivores, and small carnivores.”

After hearing this news, I asked Dr. Steve to give me a little information on the two dinosaurs. He started with Ceratosaurus. He said, “Ceratosaurus is a pretty cool dinosaur. It's a relatively small carnivore with a large three-crested head, two relatively short arms, strong back legs and a long tail. It grows about 20 feet in length and weighs approximately a ton.” He went on to explain where the animal lived and what its environment was like. “This theropod lived in what is now the southwestern United States; we find their fossils in places like Utah, Colorado and Wyoming, where the climate used to be much wetter and was probably covered in floodplains, gallery forests, fern prairies and open woodlands. Other Ceratosaurus fossils have been found in Tanzania and Portugal. This dinosaur lived in an environment full of giants. Along with small ornithopods, you'd also find creatures like stegosaurs, ankylosaurs and medium-sized iguanodonts. You also would have seen the amazing sauropods, or long-necked dinosaurs like Apatosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Dinheirosaurus and Diplodocus depending on which continent we're talking about.” I asked Dr. Steve what Ceratosaurus hunted in the wild. “Ceratosaurus was a relatively small dinosaur, as dinosaurs go,” the scientist said, a”nd would have hunted anything from a small ornithopod like Othneilosaurus, to a stegosaur like Stegosaurus.” However, Ceratosaurus, Dr. Steve said, wasn't the largest killer on the block – it faced competition from larger dinosaurs such as Allosaurus and Torvosaurus.

Then we switched to the topic of what on earth Ceratosaurus' head crests were for. Dr. Steve is quoted for saying, “This dinosaur had three crests on its head: one above each eye and a larger one on the snout. Initially, Ceratosaurus' crests were thought to be used as weaponry. The tiny problem was that they were really too fragile for that behavior. We now know that they were used for display; the dinosaur would use them to ward off rival creatures and attract potential mates.”

Feeling I'd learned a lot about Ceratosaurus, I told Dr. Steve that I wanted to learn about the other dinosaur he cloned: Acrocanthosaurus. He said to me that Acrocanthosaurus was one of the largest North American carnivores. It was around 40 feet in length and weighed five tons! “Acrocanthosaurus was in a group of theropods called the carnosaurs,” Dr. Steve explains, “they were a vicious predators, some of which growing larger than Tyrannosaurus! They lived in a completely different environment than the one Ceratosaurus lived in. Its fossils have been found in southwestern states as well, in places like Utah, Texas and Oklahoma, where it's the state fossil. The environment it lived in was filled with a wide array of other dinosaurs such as iguanodonts like Tenontosaurus, ankylosaurs like Gastonia, sauropods like Sauroposeidon and Brontomerus. There were also smaller predators in the ecosystem, including the vicious raptor Deinonychus.” The name Deinonychus sounded very familiar to me, so I asked the geneticist to tell me more about that dinosaur.

“Deinonychus was a close relative of Velociraptor – they were both in the dromaeosaur family,” says Dr. Steve. “Deinonychus stood about five feet tall and stretched 11-13 feet from nose to tail. Like Velociraptor, they were probably pack-hunting dinosaurs and bore a six-inch retractable claw on each foot that it used to help finish off its prey. They weren't large enough to be much competition to Acrocanthosaurus.” He went on to say, “And speaking of predatory habits, perhaps I should tell you about what Acrocanthosaurus ate. Based on the skeleton design, this carnosaur was suited to hunting iguanodontids and even sauropods. Its arms weren't very flexible, but they were quite strong and sharply clawed.”

At that point in the conversation, I had noticed that Acrocanthosaurus had a ridge along its back. I had seen something similar in an unrelated family of dinosaurs known as the spinosaurids, which includes species of dinosaurs like Spinosaurus and Suchomimus. Those dinosaurs have tall sails on their backs used for temperature regulation and for display. Perhaps Acrocanthosaurus had a ridge along its back for the same purpose. I asked Dr. Steve about it. His reply was, “Acrocanthosaurus had tall vertebra on its neck, back and tail. Unlike the ones on Spinosaurus which supported a sail of skin, these supported a ridge of some skin, but also of muscles. This would have made the neck quite strong. However, we also believe that the ridge along its back was used for display purposes as well.”

In my opinion, Dr. Steve and his team have cloned a great pair of dinosaurs back from extinction. I can't wait to see what he'll work on next!

The ferocious Acrocanthosaurus is one of the largest carnivores at AAI.

Ceratosaurus is a medium-sized carnivore with three crests on its head for display.

Written by: Mr. Smiley

Photographer: Daniel P. Smithwater

Edited by: Christian Ryan, Joy Hammond

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Dino Park: Invader

Dino Park: Invader is an upcoming game that is going is garanteed to be one of the best in the history of computer games. Keep reading to learn all about it!

OK, I'm not normally a huge video gamer. Seriously. It's not that I don't like playing video games, but I just don't have the time for it with all the work I have to do here at Smiley's News. However, when I heard that the game company Unimaginable © was going to be releasing a game featuring dinosaurs, I just had to get a story published about it! As you all might already know, Unimaginable © is responsible for creating games such as Indiana James and Noah's Lost Ark, Galactic Wars Episode IV, To the Future and Back and Lord of the Pinto Beans; their latest game is known as Dino Park: Invader! My trusty, junior photographer, Danial P. Smithwater and I went to the Unimaginable © company building to interview the head game developer, Tyson Cortes.

The game's description is as follows:

“In Dino Park: Invader!, you play as Annie, a woman who's plane wrecks on a mysterious island off the coast of Costa Rica in the Pacific Ocean and finds that she is the only survivor. Unfortunately, she soon comes to realize that the island she arrived on is not just any island – she's landed on Isla Cortez, the breeding ground for a once top-secret company known as Biogen, or Biological and Genetic Technologies Inc. and that the island is inhabited by living, breathing dinosaurs! Using her strength, wits and tools she finds on the island, Annie must escape the dino-filled island alive by reaching the helicopter landing pad. Can she make it in time?”

Tyson is quoted for saying, “After finishing Lord of the Pinto Beans, we decided to do a dinosaur-themed video game since pretty much everyone loves dinosaurs.” Tyson got the idea to start working on the game when he finished watching his five-year old son playing with his dinosaur collection and a toy person. He had the dinosaurs actively pursuing the person.

“The game is a first-person adventure staring a woman named Annie,” says Tyson. “The game involves a lot of fleeing, fighting off dinosaurs using weapons she finds lying around and solving logic puzzles. All the environments are three-dimensional and consist of quite a few different habitats.” Tyson went on to explain that the game also features Annie learning about the rich history of Biogen – the initial creation, rise and eventual fall of the company. “The player will also learn a lot about Annie's personality as the game unfolds, she's a very creative, energetic, optimistically-minded young woman.”

Dino Park: Invader! doesn't only consist of Annie of course, it's filled with a rich environment and loads of amazing creatures in each level. The game is planned to have 16 levels that Annie will have to get through in order to make it off the island:

1. The Beach
2. The Estuary
3. The Mangrove Swamp
4. The Open Woodland
5. The Sauropod Valley
6. The Jungle
7. The Plains
8. The Jungle #2
9. The Worker Village
10. The Laboratories
11. The Raptor Nest
12. The Upland Forest
13. The Mountain Forest
14. The High Cliffs
15. The Communication Center
16. The Race to the Helipad

“Each of the levels features little challenges for Annie to figure out and she'll have to battle dinosaurs in every level as well,” explains Tyson. “Well, I take that back. The . . . [level] that takes place at the Beach is a tutorial level, where the player can learn how to do certain things.”

Of course, you can't have a dinosaur game without the dinosaurs! There's a whole host of dinosaurs making their appearance in this game that Annie is going to encounter. “We tried our best to fill the game with a lot of well known dinosaurs,” says Tyson, “but also some dinosaurs that many people might not know about. One of my favorite dinosaurs in the game is Sinornithosaurus.” Tyson tells me that Sinornithosaurus is an arboreal (tree-living) raptor related to Velociraptor that leaps out of trees to attack Annie. Annie must locate as many weapons (tranquilizer guns, tasers and cattle prods) to defend herself from these and other dinosaurs. Tyson also said, “Of course, we had to put in Tyrannosaurus rex. In my opinion, you can't have a dinosaur game without T. rex. Annie meets loads of T. rex when she's on her island adventure. We also felt that we had to include Velociraptor. In the game, they try to make surviving a hard thing for Annie to do. They're very intelligent and hunt in packs. If Annie doesn't watch her back, she's a goner! Oh! I almost forgot to mention that there are three tribes of raptors across the island: Tribe A, Tribe B and Tribe C; as if one type of raptor wasn't enough!” Tyson was able to give me a list of the dinosaurs planned to be in the game. The list consists of:

• Tyrannosaurus rex
• Velociraptor
• Triceratops
• Brachiosaurus
• Pachyrhinosaurus
• Acrocanthosaurus
• Albertosaurus
• Stegosaurus
• Compsognathus
• Sinornithosaurus
• Dilophosaurus
• Diplodocus
• Allosaurus
• Styracosaurus
• Camarasaurus
• Ceratosaurus
• Cryolophosaurus
• Baryonyx
• Spinosaurus
• Oviraptor
• Pteranodon
• Pachycephalosaurus
• Dracorex
• Stygymoloch
• Torosaurus
• Kentrosaurus
• Eoraptor

Unimaginable © plans to release this game on May 21, 2014 and are very excited about doing so. They feel as if they have the perfect dinosaur game. “The development team has put a lot of work into making this game,” Tyson says, “and I'm sure that once we're done, it will be all worthwhile!”

Written by: Mr. Smiley

Photographer: Daniel P. Smithwater

Edited by: Christian Ryan, Joy Hammond

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Next Issue:Dr. Steve's New Dinosaurs of 2014

Lizzy and the Riddler pt. 4

Lizzy and Jack set off across the Mississippi River with Jack's uncle, Tyrone, in search of the next clue to the mysterious Riddler.

The next day I wake up to hear a loud thump downstairs.

“Ow Tyrone, why did you that?” yelled a voice, just below me.

“It's time to get up,” ranted an older voice of Tyrone.

I hear grumbling and small thuds.

“Oh and go wake up your girlfriend,” added the older voice. “The tide is going back out. It's low tide.”

“She's not my girlfriend,” the other voice interrupted quickly.

I sit up in bed and stare out the window at the river. Why am I here again? Oh yeah the riddle, Mr. Smiley's package, and . . . Jack. I quickly get dressed and am downstairs before Jack even finished putting the couch together. I noticed that Tyrone had a fishing rod in his hand . . . er, paw.

“Uncle, what are you doing?” asked Jack, also noticing the pole.

Tyrone looked at him curious with a very scary smile.

“Oh no...no you're not” Jack exclaimed, grabbing at the pole in a tug of war.

While they did that, I grabbed something quick to eat.

“WE ARE NOT HAVING FISH FOR BREAKFAST!” shouted Jack.

“WELL WE ARE!” yelled Tyrone, tugging the pole. “YOU'RE ARE GOING TO BREAK MY 'LUCKY' POLE!”

Jack grinned and let go, sending Tyrone on his bottom and little puffy tail.

“Fine I'll get the car,” He said. “Hurry up Liz.”

“Lizzy,” I corrected.

I watched as Jack got the car. He really is annoying.

“Yep you are really good for him,” Tyrone laughed. “You make a great couple.”

“What?” I answered, “I'm not his . . .”
HONK! HONK! I hurried to the car and we headed off toward the river.

“Aw my gift must be soaking wet!” I exclaimed, “or . . . we have another riddle.”

Jack chuckled as we headed toward the beach. I looked around but didn't find much. Except Jack's Uncle fishing.

“Fish will be great for breakfast,” he informed us, “good source of protein.”

I watched as he tossed the lure into the river.

“Uh, is it legal to fish here?” I asked, nervously.

Jack shrugged. I look closely at Tyrone's pole and noticed a white speck on the rod.

“No it can't be . . .” I mutter, getting a closer look.

I get closer and as I suspected, a paper was attached to the pole. Has Jack been doing this all along? Why? Where's the package?

“All right, I've had enough of this,” I demand, “where is the package, Jack.”

He looks back at me bewildered and notices that the riddle is on his Uncle's fishing rod.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, “I haven't done anything.”

He goes over and snatches his Uncle's fishing rod.

“'I have a few points but we're not competing. I will help you win when you're eating',” Jack read.

“A fork,” I answer, instantly.

Jack looks at me with surprise.

“What?” I asked, “I've heard that one. Now the next problem is where? A fork to eat or is it like a fork in the road?”
“Denny's is nearby,” Jack suggested

We head back to the car, with Tyrone whimpering behind.

“But I was going to catch a big trout!” he announced.

We headed to Denny's and got a table.

“Are you sure this is the right place . . . or the right table?” I ask, curiously.

“I don't know,” he shrugged, looking under his fork.

Jack's Uncle ordered fish 'n sticks with a side of nine pancakes. I looked at my fork. I wasn't hungry so I didn't order anything but Jack didn't notice as he was too busy eying the dessert. I was looking intently at my napkin which was under my fork. With curiosity, I lifted it up and a piece of paper fell out.

“You are close to the end of our little game. Just one more riddle, then you decide where to go next. 'I take what you receive and surrender it all by waving my flag.”

Written by: Mr. Smiley

Photographer: Daniel P. Smithwater

Edited by: Christian Ryan, Joy Hammond

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We here at Smiley’s News, I have been working night and day to get articles ready. I could really use some help! So we are looking for people interested in writing (especially kids and teens). If you are interested, PLEASE(!) send an email to animaladventures@aol.com and save me from working night and day! I’m exhausted!

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Next Issue: Dino Park: Invader!

AAI.'s African Buffalo Has Baby!

Annabelle the African Buffalo has just had her new calf, Cassie! Continue reading to learn all about what it's like to be a buffalo, straight from the buffalo's mouth!

The birth of any animal can cause much excitement here at Animal Adventures Inc. (AAI.). I mean, just check out what happened when the hadrosaurs had their baby. There were balloons, confetti, birthday cake and other things literally everywhere! Seriously, someone decided that my desk would make a great place to store the birthday cake until the party. I don't know why they couldn't put it in the fridge! I mean, whoever did that was extremely uncreative . . . oh, Daniel P. Smithwater just informed me that I did that because I was the one who was supposed to be decorating it, but Rack-coon ended up doing it because I was in a business overload.

Anywho, I'm getting off topic here! The latest animal birth is a baby African Buffalo named Cassie, just last Thursday. When her mother, Annabelle had finished with the labor process and the young one was on her feet, the AAI. veterinarian Elizabeth Sorkin called us to say that we could have our exclusive interview with Annabelle. So naturally, my trusty, junior photographer, Daniel P. Smithwater, and I went over to the Animal Adventures Institute in a flash.

Now before I go on, there is something I must explain: Annabelle and Cassie aren't water buffaloes. Though related, Water buffaloes are native to Asia, and I think we already know where African Cape Buffaloes are found. Cape Buffaloes are also slightly larger than their Asian cousins. Cape Buffaloes are also cousins of the American Bison, which is incorrectly referred to as a buffalo.

Annabelle was more than happy to talk about her newborn. When asked why she named her Cassie, Annabelle was quoted for saying, “Oh I'm not sure. She just sort of looks like a Cassie, doesn't she to you? She looks just like her mama did at her age – big brown eyes, stubby horns, wet muzzle . . . well actually, she's completely wet! And she's got the same brown fur I did too.” Daniel and I noticed Cassie's striking dis-resemblance to her mother. So this is when I asked if Cassie's features were normal for African Buffalo. “Yes, they are,” says Annabelle.

She went on to explain that buffalo mothers have a gestation period lasting 11.5 months. Once born, the calves born in the wild are hidden in dense foliage for several weeks. During this time, the mother buffalo visits her young one to feed it milk every so often. “It may seem cruel,” Annabelle said, “[but]. . . the calf actually has a higher chance of surviving when its hiding in the foliage at that age. We mothers can't spend too much time with our young in the wild because we don't want our scent attaching to the baby – that will attract predators.”

Finally, the calf is old enough to join the herd – the calf stays in the center of the herd for protection against predators. Then I asked Annabelle what predators would hunt buffalo. She said, “Well, we have a lot of predators in the wild. Cheetahs, leopards and spotted hyenas try to kill calves. But they are too small to take on adult buffalo. No, that role belongs to predators like lions and crocodiles.”

I could tell that it was probably almost Cassie's bedtime, as every newborn needs a lot of sleep! So just before we left, we asked Cassie how she liked her new home and stuff like that. “Bubble!” she responded. OK, so maybe her vocabulary isn't the best at this age, but when she grows up, she'll be – 3.3-5.6 feet tall at the shoulders and 5.6-11.2 feet long – an awe-inspiring African mammal!

Written by: Mr. Smiley

Photographer: Daniel P. Smithwater

Edited by: Christian Ryan, Joy Hammond

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We here at Smiley’s News, I have been working night and day to get articles ready. I could really use some help! So we are looking for people interested in writing (especially kids and teens). If you are interested, PLEASE(!) send an email to animaladventures@aol.com and save me from working night and day! I’m exhausted!

Weekly Cartoons

Next Issue: Lizzy and the Riddler pt. 4