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Environment & ecology

Prelims · Environment & ecology · 67 questions

Biodiversity, plants & animals

Every UPSC Prelims question on this topic, 2016–2026, newest first. Tap an option to check yourself; the answer and explanation open below it.

Biodiversity, plants & animals questions per year: 2016: 5, 2017: 0, 2018: 3, 2019: 3, 2020: 3, 2021: 4, 2022: 3, 2023: 6, 2024: 6, 2025: 2, 2026: 3 Asked in 10 of 11 years · most in 2024 (6)

Practising Environment & ecology? Take it as timed sets of 25 →

UPSC syllabus: “General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change - that do not require subject specialization.” Sub-topics in the detailed syllabus →

Prelims 2016 · Q22

X-Ray · Core #1 Easy

भारत के निम्नलिखित क्षेत्रों में से ‘ग्रेट इंडियन हॉर्नबिल’ के अपने प्राकृतिक आवास में पाए जाने की सबसे अधिक सम्भावना कहाँ है?

Read this question in English

In which of the following regions of India are you most likely to come across the 'Great Indian Hornbill' in its natural habitat?

(a) Sand deserts of northwest India · (b) Higher Himalayas of Jammu and Kashmir · (c) Salt marshes of western Gujarat · (d) Western Ghats

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (d) पश्चिमी घाट

The Great (Indian) Hornbill is a bird of tall, evergreen tropical forests: it feeds largely on fruit and nests in cavities of big old trees. In India such forests occur in the Western Ghats and the north-east; deserts, the treeless high Himalayas and salt marshes offer neither food nor nest sites.

  • ✓ (d) The Kerala Forest Department records the Great Indian Hornbill in the evergreen forests of the State, in the Western Ghats, and it is Kerala's State bird.
  • ✗ (b) The higher Himalayas of Jammu and Kashmir are cold and largely treeless above the forest line, with no tropical evergreen forest.
  • ✗ (a) The Thar sand desert has scrub vegetation, not the large, old trees hornbills need for nesting.

Remember · Great Hornbill (Buceros bicornis): evergreen forests of the Western Ghats and north-east India; nests in holes of big old trees; State bird of Kerala and Arunachal Pradesh.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 9 Exploration, Ch 12 (practise this chapter)

Sources

  • Kerala Forest Department: Biodiversity - Fauna ↗ “Found in the evergreen forests of the valleys, they are omnivores that feed on fruits, lizards, snakes and small animals including insects. Great Indian Hornbill is our State bird.”
  • NCERT Class 9 · Exploration, Chapter 12 “Pakke is also known for supporting four species of hornbills — the Rufous-necked Hornbill, the Oriental Pied Hornbill, the Great Hornbill, and the Wreathed Hornbill”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2016 · Q44

X-Ray · Core #1 Medium

भारत में पाई जाने वाली नस्ल, ‘खाराई ऊँट’ के बारे में अनूठा क्या है/हैं?

  1. 1.यह समुद्र-जल में तीन किलोमीटर तक तैरने में सक्षम है।
  2. 2.यह मैन्ग्रोव (mangroves) की चराई पर जीता है।
  3. 3.यह जंगली होता है और पालतू नहीं बनाया जा सकता है।

नीचे दिए गए कूट का प्रयोग कर सही उत्तर चुनिए।

Read this question in English

What is/are unique about ‘Kharai camel’, a breed found in India?

1. It is capable of swimming up to three kilometres in seawater.

2. It survives by grazing on mangroves.

3. It lives in the wild and cannot be domesticated.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

(a) 1 and 2 only · (b) 3 only · (c) 1 and 3 only · (d) 1, 2 and 3

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (a) केवल 1 और 2

The Kharai camel of Kutch, Gujarat, is known as the "swimming camel": it swims across salty water to reach mangroves, which are a key part of its diet. It is not a wild animal; it is a recognised domestic breed reared by Jat and Rabari herding families.

  • ✓ 1. The Kharai is famous for swimming through saline water to reach mangrove islands. This is what earned it the name "Swimming Camel". Down To Earth reports that the breed can swim up to three kilometres into the sea in search of mangroves; the ICAR article cited here gives no distance.
  • ✓ 2. Mangroves are a key part of its diet and the camel swims across salty water to reach them, an adaptation to its coastal habitat.
  • ✗ 3. Kharai camels are domesticated. Camel-breeding Jat and Rabari families rear them, and the Government of India designated the camel as an endangered domestic breed.

Remember · Kharai camel (Kutch, Gujarat): a domesticated, endangered breed that swims across saline water to feed on mangroves.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2016 · Q45

X-Ray · Core #1 Medium

हाल ही में हमारे वैज्ञानिकों ने केले के पौधे की एक नई और भिन्न जाति की खोज की है जिसकी ऊँचाई लगभग 11 मीटर तक जाती है और उसके फल का गूदा नारंगी रंग का है। यह भारत के किस भाग में खोजी गई है?

Read this question in English

Recently, our scientists have discovered a new and distinct species of banana plant which attains a height of about 11 metres and has orange-coloured fruit pulp. In which part of India has it been discovered?

(a) Andaman Islands · (b) Anaimalai Forests · (c) Maikala Hills · (d) Tropical rain forests of northeast

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (a) अंदमान द्वीप

The banana is Musa indandamanensis, a wild species described by a Botanical Survey of India scientist from the forests of Little Andaman in the Andaman Islands. The plant stands about 11 metres tall and its ripe fruit pulp turns yellowish orange.

  • ✓ (a) The species was collected during floristic exploration of Little Andaman and published in 2014 as new to science. The author says the species is named after the Andaman Islands.
  • ✗ (b) The Anaimalai (Western Ghats) forests are not where this species was found; its description records it from Little Andaman only.
  • ✗ (c) The Maikala Hills in Chhattisgarh are not the discovery site.
  • ✗ (d) The north-eastern rain forests hold other wild bananas, but this new species was described from the Bay Islands.

Remember · Musa indandamanensis, a new wild banana (about 11 m tall, orange pulp), was described from Little Andaman in 2014 by a Botanical Survey of India scientist.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2016 · Q52

X-Ray · Core #37 Medium

‘पारितंत्र एवं जैव विविधता का अर्थतंत्र [The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB)]’ नामक पहल के संदर्भ में निम्नलिखित कथनों में से कौन-सा/से सही है/हैं?

  1. 1.यह एक पहल है, जिसकी मेजबानी UNEP, IMF एवं विश्व आर्थिक मंच (World Economic Forum) करते हैं।
  2. 2.यह एक विश्वव्यापी पहल है, जो जैव विविधता के आर्थिक लाभों के प्रति ध्यान आकर्षित करने पर केंद्रित है।
  3. 3.यह ऐसा उपागम प्रस्तुत करता है, जो पारितंत्रों और जैव विविधता के मूल्य की पहचान, निदर्शन और अभिग्रहण में निर्णयकर्ताओं की सहायता कर सकता है।

नीचे दिए गए कूट का प्रयोग कर सही उत्तर चुनिए।

Read this question in English

With reference to an initiative called 'The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB)', which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. It is an initiative hosted by UNEP, IMF and World Economic Forum.

2. It is a global initiative that focuses on drawing attention to the economic benefits of biodiversity.

3. It presents an approach that can help decision-makers recognize, demonstrate and capture the value of ecosystems and biodiversity.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

(a) 1 and 2 only · (b) 3 only · (c) 2 and 3 only · (d) 1, 2 and 3

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (c) केवल 2 और 3

TEEB is a global initiative, housed in UNEP (not in the IMF or the World Economic Forum), that draws attention to the hidden economic value of nature and gives decision-makers an approach to recognise, demonstrate and capture that value. So statements 2 and 3 are correct and 1 is not.

  • ✗ 1. UNEP hosts the TEEB Office (in Geneva since March 2011). The IMF and the World Economic Forum are not its hosts.
  • ✓ 2. TEEB seeks to draw attention to the invisibility of nature in the economic choices that governments and businesses make.
  • ✓ 3. TEEB's structured approach to valuation helps decision-makers recognise the benefits of ecosystems, demonstrate their values in economic terms and, where suitable, capture those values in decisions.

Remember · TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity): a UNEP-hosted global initiative to make nature's values visible - recognise, demonstrate, capture. Not an IMF or WEF body.

Sources

  • UNEP: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) ↗ “a structured approach to valuation that helps decision-makers recognize the wide range of benefits provided by ecosystems and biodiversity, demonstrate their values in economic terms and, where appropriate, capture those values in decision-making”
  • UNEP: TEEB Approach and Timeline (March 2011 entry) ↗ “March 2011 UNEP hosts the TEEB Office TEEB finds its institutional home at the United Nations Environment Programme in Geneva, Switzerland and sets up an office to manage day-to-day operations and communications activities. … The TEEB initiative seeks to draw attention to the invisibility of nature in the economic choices we make across the domains of international, national, and local policy-making, public administration, and business.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2016 · Q53

X-Ray · Core #1 Easy

समाचारों में कभी-कभी दिखाई देने वाले ‘रेड सैंडर्स (Red Sanders)’ के संदर्भ में निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिए :

  1. 1.यह दक्षिण भारत के एक भाग में पाई जाने वाली एक वृक्ष जाति है।
  2. 2.यह दक्षिण भारत के उष्णकटिबंधीय वर्षावन क्षेत्रों के अति महत्त्वपूर्ण वृक्षों में से एक है।

उपर्युक्त कथनों में से कौन-सा/से सही है/हैं?

Read this question in English

With reference to 'Red Sanders', sometimes seen in the news, consider the following statements:

1. It is a tree species found in a part of South India.

2. It is one of the most important trees in the tropical rain forest areas of South India.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only · (b) 2 only · (c) Both 1 and 2 · (d) Neither 1 nor 2

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (a) केवल 1

Red Sanders (Pterocarpus santalinus) is endemic to a small tract of the Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh, so it is found only in a part of South India. It grows in dry deciduous forest, not in tropical rainforest, so statement 2 is wrong.

  • ✓ 1. The IUCN describes it as an Indian endemic tree with a restricted range in the Eastern Ghats, in a distinct tract of forest in Andhra Pradesh.
  • ✗ 2. It grows in dry deciduous forests, on dry, hilly and often rocky ground, and is not a tree of the tropical rainforests of South India.

Remember · Red Sanders: endemic to the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh; a dry-deciduous-forest tree, not a rainforest one; IUCN Endangered and listed under CITES Appendix II.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2016 · Q90

X-Ray · Core #1 Medium

हाल ही में, हमारे देश में पहली बार, निम्नलिखित राज्यों में से किसने एक विशेष तितली को ‘राज्य तितली’ के रूप में घोषित किया है?

Read this question in English

Recently, for the first time in our country, which of the following States has declared a particular butterfly as 'State Butterfly'?

(a) Arunachal Pradesh · (b) Himachal Pradesh · (c) Karnataka · (d) Maharashtra

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (d) महाराष्ट्र

Maharashtra was the first State in India to have an official State butterfly, and it chose the Blue Mormon (Papilio polymnestor). The Maharashtra Forest Department's own butterfly guide records this.

  • ✓ (d) The Blue Mormon (Papilio polymnestor) was declared the State butterfly of Maharashtra, and Maharashtra is described as the first State in India to have one. It is a large swallowtail with a wingspan of 120-150 mm.
  • ✗ (a) Arunachal Pradesh has also named a State butterfly, the Kaiser-i-Hind, but Maharashtra's choice was the first in the country.
  • • Since then Since 2016 other States have named their own State butterflies as well, so 'first' describes the position only when the question was set. The Maharashtra Forest Department's Pench guide, for instance, notes that the Kaiser-i-Hind is Arunachal Pradesh's State butterfly.

Remember · Maharashtra was India's first State to declare a State butterfly: the Blue Mormon, Papilio polymnestor.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

The Syllabus X-Ray of this topic

2 of its 7 sub-topics are Core

2 Core · 1 High · 2 Steady · 2 Rare

  • Core #1Animals in the news: species & habitats · 25 questions
  • Core #27Plants & their uses · 8 questions
  • HighIUCN Red List & threatened species · 3 questions

The X-Ray ranks all 928 sub-topics of the UPSC syllabus by what UPSC has asked since 2016. The 60 Prelims Core sub-topics are behind 51% of Prelims questions.

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