Consider the following animals: To reduce the chance of being captured by predators, which of the above organisms rolls up/roll up and protects/protect its/their vulnerable parts?

Answer: (d) 1 and 3

Hedgehogs and pangolins roll up; marmots flee to burrows.

Statement by statement

1. ✓ YES Hedgehogs curl into a ball of spines.

2. ✗ NO Marmots escape into burrows and whistle an alarm; they don’t roll up.

3. ✓ YES Pangolins curl into a ball covered in keratin scales.

The idea

Small animals that cannot outrun or fight a predator use other defences. Rolling up works only for an animal that has armour on its back: the soft belly is tucked inside and the armour faces out. A marmot has only fur, so rolling up would not help it.

Armour on the back → roll into a ball: hedgehog (spines), pangolin (scales), three-banded armadillo (bony plates) → No armour → run to a burrow and warn others: marmot → Quills → turn the back and charge: porcupine

Also know

The Himalayan marmot lives in burrows on high meadows of Ladakh and Sikkim and sleeps through the winter. India has hedgehogs in its dry north-west and in the south.