Extinction trivia

The two Buddhas of Bamiyan (53 metres and 36 metres tall), the world's largest "standing Buddha" statues, were destroyed in 2001 in a display of might and control by forces ruling parts of _____.

• China

• Afghanistan

• India

• Egypt

The extinction of the _____ of Australia is believed to have occurred early in the 20th century, when agricultural development of local crops accelerated and eroded the bird's habitat.

• dodo

• Tasmanian devil

• paradise parrot

• emu

A type of ______ indigenous to Easter Island disappeared at the beginning of the 15th century because of rampant, uncontrolled deforestation.

• olive tree

• marine bird

• palm tree

• medicinal herb

The ancient Great Library in _____ had thousands of rare original works by philosophers such as Plato. In an attack on the city by Julius Caesar in 40 AD, it was deliberately burnt but not completely destroyed.

• Rome

• Athens

• Pompeii

• Alexandria

A type of _____ once ubiquitous in the Pyrenees was declared extinct in the year 2000.

• wild goat

• wolf

• lion

• lynx

The people of _____ lived for a long time under imminent threat of a volcanic eruption, which destroyed the city in 79 AD.

• Rome

• Pompeii

• Mount St. Helens