Consider the following statements : 1. Lions do not have a particular breeding season. 2. Unlike most other big cats, cheetahs do not roar. 3. Unlike male lions, male leopards do not proclaim their territory by scent marking. Which of the statements given above are correct ?

(a) 1 and 2 only ✓ UPSC's answer
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Why the answer is (a)

• Statement 1 is correct: lions breed throughout the year; lionesses in a pride often synchronise births but there is no fixed breeding season.

• Statement 2 is correct: cheetahs belong to a different lineage from the roaring cats (lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar) and have a fixed hyoid bone, so they cannot roar — they purr, chirp and hiss instead.

• Statement 3 is wrong: male leopards, like lions and most cats, mark territory with urine spray, scrapes and scent from facial glands.

• India's Project Cheetah (2022) reintroduced the species at Kuno National Park.

• Hence 1 and 2 only, option (a).

Why the other options are wrong

(b) 2 and 3 only: Statement 3 is wrong: male leopards do scent-mark; statement 1 is correct.
(c) 1 and 3 only: Statement 3 is wrong; statement 2 on cheetahs is correct.
(d) 1, 2 and 3: Statement 3 is wrong, so all three cannot be correct.

Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2024, held on 16 June 2024. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.