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UPSC Prelims 2019 · Environment · Species Watch
Consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Asiatic lion is naturally found in India only.
- Double-humped camel is naturally found in India only.
- One-horned rhinoceros is naturally found in India only.
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: (a) 1 only
Only the Asiatic lion is found in India alone.
Statement by statement
1. ✓ CORRECT Wild Asiatic lions survive only in and around Gir, Gujarat.
2. ✗ WRONG Bactrian (two-humped) camels live in Ladakh’s Nubra valley but also in Mongolia and China.
3. ✗ WRONG One-horned rhinos also live in Nepal (Chitwan, Bardia).
The idea
Two different words. A species is native to India if it lives here naturally. It is endemic to India if it lives here and nowhere else. The question asks for the second.
Asiatic lion: only around Gir → India only → One-horned rhinoceros: India and Nepal → Two-humped camel: Mongolia, China, and a small group in Ladakh
The trap
Kaziranga holds most one-horned rhinos, so the species feels India-only. Nepal has a large population too.
Also know
The Nubra valley camels descend from animals of the old Silk Route caravans. Most one-horned rhinos are in Assam (Kaziranga, Pobitora, Orang, Manas); the species is Vulnerable.
🔒 India-only: Asiatic lion (Gir). Shared: one-horned rhino (Nepal), Bactrian camel (Mongolia, China).