Which of the following are the most likely places to find the musk deer in its natural habitat?
- 1.Askot Wildlife Sanctuary
- 2.Gangotri National Park
- 3.Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary
- 4.Manas National Park
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only
Musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster) is a high-Himalayan animal, so the Uttarakhand mountain areas, Askot Wildlife Sanctuary and Gangotri National Park, are its likely homes, not the plains and foothill areas of Kishanpur and Manas.
- ✓ 1. Askot Wildlife Sanctuary in Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand, is listed as a home of musk deer, alongside snow leopard, bharal and tahr.
- ✓ 2. The Wildlife Institute of India lists Musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster) among the mammals documented in Gangotri National Park, Uttarakhand.
- ✗ 3. Kishanpur is a lowland sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh, part of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve on the Gangetic alluvial plain; its deer are swamp deer, hog deer, spotted deer and the like, not musk deer.
- ✗ 4. Manas (Assam) is known for tiger, greater one-horned rhino, swamp deer, pygmy hog and Bengal florican; musk deer is not among its species.
Remember · Musk deer lives in high, cold Himalayan forests (Uttarakhand, Kashmir, Sikkim); look for Askot and Gangotri, not the Terai or Assam plains.
Sources
- Askot Sanctuary, Pithoragarh District (Government of Uttarakhand, NIC) ↗ “It is a haven for snow leopards, Himalayan black bears, musk deers, snow cocks, tahra, bharals, chirs, koklas, pheasants and chukors.”
- Gangotri National Park, Wildlife Institute of India ↗ “Snow leopard ( Panthera uncia ), Black bear ( Ursus thibetanus ), Brown bear ( Ursus arctos ), Musk deer ( Moschus chrysogaster ), Blue sheep or Bharal ( Pseudois nayaur ), Himalayan tahr ( Hemitragus jemlahicus )”
- Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (includes Kishanpur Sanctuary), National Tiger Conservation Authority ↗ “Axis porcinus (Hog Deer), Muntiacus muntjak (Barking Deer), Cervus duvaceli (Swamp deer), Cervus unicolor (Sambhar), Sus scrofa (Wild Boar)”
- Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, UNESCO World Heritage Centre ↗ “The site provides critical and viable habitats for rare and endangered species, including tiger, greater one-horned rhino, swamp deer, pygmy hog and Bengal florican.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2020, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·