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Q22 (IAS/2019) Environment & Ecology › Biodiversity & Protected Areas › Biodiversity patterns Official Key

Consider the following statements : 1. Asiatic lion is naturally found in India only. 2. Double-humped camel is naturally found in India only. 3. One-horned rhinoceros is naturally found in India only. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: A
Explanation

The correct answer is option A (1 only).

India is the only country in the world that has both tigers and lions, and the natural habitat of the Indian lion is the Gir forest in Gujarat.[1] This confirms that the Asiatic lion is naturally found only in India, making statement 1 correct.

Statement 2 is incorrect because double-humped camels are present in Nubra valley of Jammu and Kashmir[2], but the double-humped (Bactrian) camel is not endemic to India—it is also found in other regions of Central Asia, including Mongolia and parts of China.

Statement 3 is also incorrect. The Greater One-horned Rhinoceros once ranged across the entire northern part of Indian subcontinent, along the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra River basins[3], indicating its distribution extended beyond present-day India. Currently, one-horned rhinoceros populations are found not only in India (primarily in Assam) but also in Nepal, making it not exclusive to India.

Therefore, only statement 1 is correct, making option A the right answer.

Sources
  1. [1] CONTEMPORARY INDIA-I ,Geography, Class IX . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 5: Natural Vegetation and Wildlife > WILDLIFE > p. 43
  2. [2] https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/86764/3/Unit-7.pdf
  3. [3] https://moef.gov.in/wildlife-wl
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Don’t just practise – reverse-engineer the question. This panel shows where this PYQ came from (books / web), how the examiner broke it into hidden statements, and which nearby micro-concepts you were supposed to learn from it. Treat it like an autopsy of the question: what might have triggered it, which exact lines in the book matter, and what linked ideas you should carry forward to future questions.
Q. Consider the following statements : 1. Asiatic lion is naturally found in India only. 2. Double-humped camel is naturally found in India …
At a glance
Origin: Books + Current Affairs Fairness: Low / Borderline fairness Books / CA: 3.3/10 · 3.3/10
You're seeing a guest preview. The Verdict and first statement analysis are open. Login with Google to unlock all tabs.

This question is a classic 'Endemism Trap'. Statement 1 is a standard textbook fact (Gir Lion = Endemic), while Statements 2 and 3 test your knowledge of trans-boundary ranges. The strategy is simple: unless a species is isolated by geography (like an island or the Western Ghats) or is a known relict population (Gir), assume large mammals cross political borders (Nepal, Pakistan, China).

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
Is the Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) naturally found only in India (i.e., endemic to India)?
Origin: Direct from books Fairness: Straightforward Book-answerable
From standard books
Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 16: Conservation Efforts > a l..J -lj EN.VINO'NM > p. 232
Presence: 5/5
“;a l..J -lj EN.VINO'NM • The Asiatic Lion, endemic to Gir landscape of Gujarat, is one of the critically endangered species identified by the Ministry for taking up recovery programmes. Asiatic Lion, being listed in Schedule-I of Wildlife (protection) Act, 1972, to be accorded the highest degree of protection. • This project has a 'species Conservation over a large landscape' approach. Besides this approach, the Greater Gir Region (GGR) is being divided into various zones and management approaches.”
Why this source?
  • Explicitly describes the Asiatic Lion as 'endemic to Gir landscape of Gujarat'.
  • Directly ties the species' natural range to a specific region within India.
CONTEMPORARY INDIA-I ,Geography, Class IX . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 5: Natural Vegetation and Wildlife > WILDLIFE > p. 43
Presence: 4/5
“Arid areas of the Rann of Kachchh and the Thar Desert are the habitat for wild ass and camels respectively. Indian bison, nilgai (blue bull), chousingha (four-horned antelope), gazel and different species of deer are some other animals found in India. It also has several species of monkeys. Wildlife Protection Act was implemented in 1972 in India. India is the only country in the world that has both tigers and lions. The natural habitat of the Indian lion is the Gir forest in Gujarat. Tigers are found in the forests of Madhya”
Why this source?
  • States India is the only country in the world that has both tigers and lions.
  • Identifies the natural habitat of the Indian/Asiatic lion as the Gir forest in Gujarat.
Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 16: Conservation Efforts > 16.2 PROJECT LION > p. 231
Presence: 4/5
“• Increase in the number of Asiatic lions in Gujarat's Gir forest from 523 to 674 in 2000. • Lion relocation has been discussed since 1995, when the Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary was identified as an alternate site. The reason for finding a relocation site is because the population in Gir has low genetic diversity, making it vulnerable to threats from epidemics. All Rights Reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form or by any means, without Permission in writing.”
Why this source?
  • Documents population counts and conservation actions centered on Gujarat's Gir forest.
  • Notes discussions of relocating lions because the Gir population is the primary (single) wild population with low genetic diversity.
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