UPSC Prelims 2017 GS Paper I · Q67 of 100 Environment & Ecology easy

If you want to see gharials in their natural habitat, which one of the following is the best place to visit ?

  1. (a) Bhitarkanika Mangroves
  2. (b) Chambal River ✓ UPSC's answer
  3. (c) Pulicat Lake
  4. (d) Deepor Beel

Why the answer is (b)

• The gharial, a critically endangered fish-eating crocodilian, survives mainly in the Chambal river, where the National Chambal Sanctuary (MP–Rajasthan–UP) holds over 75% of the wild population — option (b).

• Smaller populations exist in the Girwa (Katarniaghat), Son and Gandak rivers.

• Bhitarkanika (a) has saltwater crocodiles; Pulicat (c) is a brackish lagoon; Deepor Beel (d) is a bird wetland in Assam.

• Hence option (b).

Why the other options are wrong

(a) Bhitarkanika Mangroves
Bhitarkanika is home to saltwater crocodiles, not gharials.
(c) Pulicat Lake
Pulicat is a brackish lagoon without gharials.
(d) Deepor Beel
Deepor Beel is a bird sanctuary in Assam.

Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2017, held on 18 June 2017. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

Reading the answer is not the same as getting it right under a clock. Practise this question with UPSC's negative marking, and anything you miss goes into an error notebook until you get it right twice.

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