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UPSC Prelims 2010 · Environment · Wild Places
Consider the following pairs: Protected area — Well-known for. Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
- Bhitarkanika, Orissa — Saltwater Crocodile
- Desert National Park, Rajasthan — Great Indian Bustard
- Eravikulam, Kerala — Hoolock Gibbon
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 1 and 2 only
- (c) 2 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: (b) 1 and 2 only
Crocodiles at Bhitarkanika and bustards in Desert NP are right; Eravikulam is for the Nilgiri tahr.
Statement by statement
1. ✓ CORRECT Bhitarkanika has India’s largest saltwater crocodile population.
2. ✓ CORRECT Desert NP is the GIB’s stronghold.
3. ✗ WRONG Eravikulam (Munnar) is famous for the Nilgiri tahr. Hoolock gibbons live in the North-East.
The idea
Many parks are tied to one flagship species, and each species is tied to a habitat. Check whether the animal could live in that landscape at all. A gibbon needs tall, unbroken rainforest canopy of the North-East. Eravikulam is high, open grassland above Munnar: tahr country.
Mangrove creeks → saltwater crocodile → Bhitarkanika → Dry grassland → great Indian bustard → Desert National Park → High mountain grassland of the Western Ghats → Nilgiri tahr → Eravikulam → North-East rainforest canopy → hoolock gibbon → Hollongapar, Assam
Elimination technique
In matching questions all pairs are rarely correct in Environment PYQs. So doubt (d) first.
Also know
The Nilgiri tahr is a mountain goat found only in the southern Western Ghats; it is Endangered and is the State animal of Tamil Nadu. Eravikulam also has Anamudi, the highest peak of South India, and the neelakurinji shrub that flowers once in twelve years. The hoolock gibbon is India’s only ape.
🔒 Eravikulam = Nilgiri tahr (+ Neelakurinji). Hoolock gibbon = Hollongapar (Assam).