“India has the largest population of the Asian X.” Which animal is X?

Answer: (b) Elephant

India has about 27,000–30,000 Asian elephants — around 60% of the world’s total.

The idea

There are three living elephants: the African savanna elephant, the African forest elephant and the Asian elephant. The Asian one lives in 13 countries from India to Indonesia, and India alone has more than half of them.

Asian elephant: smaller ears, rounded back, one “finger” at the trunk tip, tusks in males only → African elephant: large ears, dipped back, two “fingers”, tusks in both sexes

Why the others are wrong

(a) India does have almost all Asiatic lions, but the statement is about the Asian species with India holding the largest share.

(c) India has most of the world’s wild tigers too, but the tiger is not called the “Asian tiger” in this sense.

(d) Most one-horned rhinos are in India (Kaziranga), but the question refers to the Asian elephant.

The trap

Several animals have their largest populations in India. “Asian X” is a name — the Asian elephant.

Also know

The Asian elephant is Endangered. Some males never grow tusks; they are called makhnas. The main problem in India is not numbers but space: herds move along old routes (elephant corridors) that are now cut by roads, railways and farms, which leads to conflict.