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UPSC Prelims 2007 · Environment · Species Watch
Consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- In India, Red Panda is naturally found in the Western Himalayas only.
- In India, Slow Loris lives in the dense forests of the Northeast.
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: (b) 2 only
The slow loris is in the North-East; the red panda in the eastern (not western) Himalaya.
Statement by statement
1. ✗ WRONG Red pandas in India live in the EASTERN Himalaya — Sikkim, Arunachal, Darjeeling.
2. ✓ CORRECT The Bengal slow loris lives in the forests of the North-East.
The idea
The red panda lives in cool, wet mountain forest with bamboo underneath, between about 2,200 and 4,800 m. In India that forest is in the eastern Himalaya, where the monsoon is strong: Sikkim, the Darjeeling hills and Arunachal Pradesh.
Eastern Himalaya: heavy rain → Dense forest with bamboo → Red panda feeds mainly on bamboo → Western Himalaya: drier, little bamboo forest of this kind → No red pandas there
The trap
The mistake is one word: “Western”. And “only”.
Elimination technique
Statement 1 ends in “only”. Absolute words usually mark the false statement in Environment PYQs. That removes (a) and (c).
Also know
The red panda is Endangered and is the State animal of Sikkim. The slow loris is a small primate with large eyes that moves slowly at night; it is one of the very few mammals with a poisonous bite. South India has a different species, the slender loris.
🔒 Red panda: eastern Himalaya (State animal of Sikkim). Slow loris: North-East India. Slender loris: South India. Both lorises are active at night.