Which one of the following protected areas is well-known for the conservation of a sub-species of the Indian swamp deer (Barasingha) that thrives well on hard ground and is exclusively graminivorous ?

(a) Kanha National Park ✓ UPSC's answer
(b) Manas National Park
(c) Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary
(d) Tal Chhapar Wildlife Sanctuary

Why the answer is (a)

• The hard-ground barasingha (Rucervus duvaucelii branderi) is a sub-species of swamp deer adapted to firm ground and feeding only on grasses; it survives in the wild only in Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh — option (a).

• Kanha's conservation programme raised the population from about 66 in 1970 to over 800, and it is the State animal of MP.

• Manas (b) hosts the eastern swamp deer sub-species of wet grasslands; Mudumalai (c) has no barasingha; Tal Chhapar (d) is a blackbuck sanctuary in Rajasthan.

• Hence option (a).

Why the other options are wrong

(b) Manas National Park: Manas has the wetland (eastern) swamp deer, not the hard-ground sub-species.
(c) Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary: Mudumalai has no barasingha.
(d) Tal Chhapar Wildlife Sanctuary: Tal Chhapar is known for blackbuck.

Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2020, held on 4 October 2020. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.