40. Lions were proposed to be translocated from Gujarat to which protected area?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 2017]
(A) Corbett
(B) Kuno-Palpur
(C) Mudumalai
(D) Sariska
Answer: (B) Kuno-Palpur
Explanation: Kuno-Palpur in Madhya Pradesh was selected as a potential second home for Asiatic lions, whose surviving wild population is concentrated in Gujarat. Establishing a second viable population would reduce the danger of a single disease event or catastrophe.
39. Which protected landscape acts as an ecological link between the Eastern and Western Ghats?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 2017]
(A) Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve
(B) Nallamala Forest
(C) Nagarhole National Park
(D) Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve
Answer: (A) Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve
Explanation: Sathyamangalam in Tamil Nadu sits near the meeting zone of the Eastern and Western Ghats. Its forests connect important elephant and tiger habitats with Nilgiri-area reserves, enabling animal movement and wider landscape-scale conservation.
38. The term M-STrIPES refers to a system connected with which activity?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 2017]
(A) Captive breeding of wild animals
(B) Monitoring and managing tiger reserves
(C) Satellite navigation for general users
(D) Security of highways
Answer: (B) Monitoring and managing tiger reserves
Explanation: M-STrIPES supports patrol monitoring, wildlife observations and enforcement in tiger reserves. The system helps managers use field data to strengthen habitat protection and identify poaching risks. Its functions are conservation-focused rather than ordinary road security.
37. Where is the Great Indian Hornbill most likely to be encountered in its natural habitat?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 2016]
(A) Northwestern sand desert
(B) High Kashmir Himalayas
(C) Salt marshes of Gujarat
(D) Western Ghats
Answer: (D) Western Ghats
Explanation: The Great Hornbill is associated with tropical and subtropical forest, including the Western Ghats and parts of northeastern India. It relies on large nesting trees and fruit resources. Open salt marshes and desert habitats are unsuitable.
36. The Gadgil and Kasturirangan committee reports primarily concerned conservation of which region?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 2016]
(A) Constitutional institutions
(B) Ganga Action Plan
(C) River interlinking
(D) Western Ghats
Answer: (D) Western Ghats
Explanation: Both committees examined ecological protection in the Western Ghats. Their recommendations differed over the extent of ecologically sensitive areas and appropriate management rules. The region is internationally important for endemic plants, amphibians and other threatened wildlife.
35. Which Rajasthan lake is included on the Ramsar list?
[RPSC RAS Prelims – 2016]
(A) Jaisamand
(B) Ana Sagar
(C) Rajsamand
(D) Sambhar
Answer: (D) Sambhar
Explanation: Sambhar Salt Lake is a Ramsar wetland near Jaipur, important for flamingos and other migratory waterbirds. Its hypersaline environment differs from the freshwater reservoirs and urban lakes in the other alternatives.
34. What is India’s largest tiger reserve by area among these options?
[RRB NTPC Tier-I – 2016]
(A) Jim Corbett
(B) Nagarjunasagar–Srisailam
(C) Satpura
(D) Sundarbans
Answer: (B) Nagarjunasagar–Srisailam
Explanation: Nagarjunasagar–Srisailam Tiger Reserve occupies a broad tract of the Nallamala Hills in Andhra Pradesh. Its large forested landscape supports tiger conservation across rugged terrain and illustrates why wildlife management must operate at a regional scale.
33. Which national park consists of a floating swamp vegetation ecosystem?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 2015]
(A) Bhitarkanika
(B) Keibul Lamjao
(C) Keoladeo Ghana
(D) Sultanpur
Answer: (B) Keibul Lamjao
Explanation: Keibul Lamjao National Park in Manipur rests on phumdis, floating masses of vegetation in Loktak Lake. It protects the rare sangai deer and is celebrated as the world’s only floating national park.
32. Which national park ranges through tropical, subtropical, temperate and near-arctic climatic conditions?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 2015]
(A) Khangchendzonga
(B) Nanda Devi
(C) Neora Valley
(D) Namdapha
Answer: (D) Namdapha
Explanation: Namdapha in Arunachal Pradesh stretches from lowland rainforest to very high Himalayan peaks. The enormous elevation difference creates diverse climate zones and habitats, supporting exceptional mammal and bird diversity within one national park.
31. For dugong, consider:
1. It eats marine vegetation.
2. It is distributed along India’s entire coastline.
3. It has Schedule I wildlife protection.
Which are correct?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 2015]
(A) 1 and 2
(B) 2 only
(C) 1 and 3
(D) 3 only
Answer: (C) 1 and 3
Explanation: Dugongs are herbivorous marine mammals dependent on seagrass meadows. Their Indian populations occur in selected coastal areas, not along every shore. They have strong legal protection under the Wildlife Protection Act because of their vulnerability to hunting and habitat loss.
