UPSC Prelims 2007 · General Studies
Question 94: Environment and Ecology
Consider the following statements :
- 1.In India, Red Panda is naturally found in the western Himalaya only.
- 2.In India, Slow Loris lives in the dense forests of the North-East.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
AnswerThe answer is (b).
In India the red panda lives in the eastern Himalaya, in Sikkim, the Darjeeling hills and Arunachal Pradesh, not the western Himalaya, so statement 1 is wrong. The slow loris lives in the dense forests of North-East India, so statement 2 is right.
- 1. The red panda lives in the eastern Himalaya.
- 2. The slow loris lives in dense forests of the North-East.
How you could have got this
- If you were sure statement 1 is not correct, (a) and (c) go: each of them includes 1.
What you needed to know: The red panda lives in the eastern Himalaya.
The red flag in statement 1 is “only”. In UPSC’s papers, statements with “only” were true 27% of the time (82 statements). A hint, not a rule.
- Then, if you were sure statement 2 is correct, (d) goes: it leaves 2 out.
What you needed to know: The slow loris lives in dense forests of the North-East.
Only (b) is left. This one needs every statement.
This follows an unofficial answer: UPSC has not published its key for this year, and if that answer is wrong, so is this path.
Which options go is worked out from UPSC’s key and the options, not by a model.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Statement 1 is wrong; the red panda is an eastern Himalayan animal.
- (b) Correct: only statement 2 holds.
- (c) Statement 1 is wrong, so both cannot hold.
- (d) Statement 2 is right, so this fails.
Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2007, General Studies. UPSC's own paper isn't online; the words are from a published compilation. The paper on upsc.gov.in.