QUESTION

Medium

Environment & Ecology

Prelims 2013

Consider the following fauna of India:

  1. Gharial
  2. Leatherback turtle
  3. Swamp deer

Which of the above is/are endangered?

Select an option to attempt

Explanation

The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), also known as the gavial or fish-eating crocodile, is a crocodilian in the family Gavialidae and is native to the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. As the population has declined drastically since the 1930s, the gharial is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. It once inhabited all the major river systems of the Indian subcontinent, from the Indus River in the west to the Irrawaddy River in the east.

The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), sometimes called the lute turtle, leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and is the fourth-heaviest modern reptile behind three crocodilians. It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN red list.

The barasingha, also called swamp deer, is a deer species distributed in the Indian subcontinent. Populations in northern and central India are fragmented, and two isolated populations occur in southwestern Nepal. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN red list. Remember, Endangered means a species is at a risk, and IUCN considered Critcally Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable as Endangered species. Thus all the given species are endangered.

Do not confuse with IUCN status of the given species, UPSC also does not mentioned about IUCN status in the question.

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