Consider the following statements regarding the Indian squirrels:
- 1.They build nests by making burrows in the ground.
- 2.They store their food materials like nuts and seeds in the ground.
- 3.They are omnivorous.
How many of the above statements are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) Only two
The three-striped palm squirrel, a common Indian squirrel, nests in treetops, not in burrows. Like other squirrels it buries nuts and seeds to eat later, and its diet mixes fruit and nuts with insects, larvae and eggs, so it is omnivorous. So statements 2 and 3 are right.
- ✗ 1. The three-striped palm squirrel builds its nest in treetops out of grass and branches, not in burrows in the ground.
- ✓ 2. Squirrels bury nuts and seeds and return to some of these caches later; the nuts they forget can grow into trees.
- ✓ 3. The palm squirrel eats mainly fruit and nuts but also takes insects, larvae, eggs and small birds, so it is omnivorous.
Remember · Indian palm squirrel: tree-nesting (not burrowing), buries nuts and seeds, omnivorous (fruit, nuts, insects, eggs).
Sources
- Samson et al. (2020), Three-striped Palm Squirrel roadkills, Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Journal of Threatened Taxa 12(10) ↗ · reference work “It is an omnivore with a diet based largely on fruit and nuts that also includes eggs, small birds, larvae, and insects … Squirrels mate throughout the year and build nests in treetops using grass and branches.”
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, Is It True That Squirrels Forget Where They Bury About Half of Their Food? ↗ · reference work “Squirrels remember where they bury some nuts, but they also forget where they bury others. … Forgotten nuts and acorns grow into trees , so squirrel absentmindedness produces some ecological benefits.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·