Which one of the following groups of animals belongs to the category of endangered species?

Answer: (a) Great Indian Bustard, Musk Deer, Red Panda and Asiatic Wild Ass

Option (a) is the only group in which every animal was a threatened species in 2012. The Great Indian Bustard is Critically Endangered. Musk deer and the Asiatic wild ass were listed Endangered by IUCN at the time, and NCERT describes the red panda as an endangered species. Each of the other three groups contains a common Least Concern animal, the cheetal or the rhesus monkey.

• ✓ (a) The Great Indian Bustard is Critically Endangered. Musk deer are threatened; the Alpine musk deer, for example, is listed Endangered. The Asiatic wild ass was listed Endangered by IUCN in 2012, under its 2008 assessment. NCERT labels the red panda an endangered species. No animal in this group is of Least Concern.
• ✗ (b) The cheetal (chital) is listed by IUCN as Least Concern. So the group cannot be called endangered, even though the Great Indian Bustard in it is Critically Endangered.
• ✗ (c) The rhesus monkey is listed as Least Concern, and the Sarus crane is Vulnerable, not Endangered. The group is therefore not an endangered group.
• ✗ (d) Only the lion-tailed macaque (Endangered) fits. The cheetal is Least Concern, so the group as a whole does not qualify.

Remember · Great Indian Bustard is Critically Endangered. In 2012, musk deer, the lion-tailed macaque and the Asiatic wild ass were Endangered. The cheetal and rhesus monkey are Least Concern, so they are the odd ones out.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Fundamentals of Physical Geography, Ch 14 (practise this chapter)

Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2012, General Studies paper. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). · Report an error