UPSC Prelims 2020 · GS Paper I
Question 75: Environment and Ecology
Which one of the following protected areas is well-known for the conservation of a sub-species of the Indian swamp deer (Barasingha) that thrives well on hard ground and is exclusively graminivorous ?
AnswerUPSC’s answer is (a).
The hard-ground barasingha (a sub-species of the swamp deer) lives on firm, dry grassland and eats only grass; Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh is famous for saving it from near extinction. The other sub-species, the wetland barasingha, lives in swampy tall grassland, as in Kaziranga, Manas and Dudhwa.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Right: Kanha conserves the hard-ground barasingha.
- (b) Wrong: Manas has the wetland barasingha.
- (c) Wrong: Mudumalai is known for elephants, tigers and other species, not barasingha.
- (d) Wrong: Tal Chhapar is known for blackbuck.
Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2020, General Studies Paper I, Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.