With reference to Indian elephants, consider the following statements:
- 1.The leader of an elephant group is a female.
- 2.The maximum gestation period can be 22 months.
- 3.An elephant can normally go on calving till the age of 40 years only.
- 4.Among the States in India, the highest elephant population is in Kerala.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only
Statements 1 and 2 are correct: an elephant herd is led by the oldest female (the matriarch), and gestation lasts about 22 months. Statement 3 is wrong because females keep reproducing until their 60s, and statement 4 is wrong because Karnataka, not Kerala, has India's largest elephant population.
- ✓ 1. An elephant herd is led by its oldest female, the matriarch, and consists of her calves and grand-calves; young bulls leave at puberty.
- ✓ 2. MoEFCC puts the gestation period of elephants at about 22 months, so 22 months is the maximum.
- ✗ 3. Female elephants begin reproducing at about 15 years of age and continue until they are in their 60s, so a cut-off at 40 years is not the norm. UPSC's key treats this statement as wrong.
- ✗ 4. Among Indian States, Karnataka has the largest elephant population in the 2017 synchronized census (6,049, against 5,706 for Kerala and 5,719 for Assam, per MoEFCC's Project Elephant table); Kerala is not the leader.
Remember · Elephants: matriarch-led herds; gestation about 22 months; females reproduce till their 60s; Karnataka has the most elephants among Indian States.
Sources
- MoEFCC, Project Elephant: Elephant Corridors of India 2023, Table 1 (Population Estimates of Elephants as per the Synchronized Elephant Census, 2017) ↗ “Southern Karnataka 6049 19 Kerala 5706 20 Tamil Nadu 2761 21 Andhra Pradesh (southern) 65”
- MoEFCC, Caring for Elephants: Managing Health & Welfare in Captivity (Demography) ↗ “Female elephants start reproducing when they are about 15 years’ age and continue to reproduce till they get into their 60s … The gestation period of elephants is about 22 months.”
- Kerala Forests and Wildlife Department, Elephant population estimation report (July 2023) ↗ “The basic family unit in a herd of elephants, with anywhere between 6 and 20 animals, consists of the matriarch with her calves and grand calves. Elephant herd is lead by the oldest female (known as matriarch.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2020, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·