UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Unwanted guests turn sweet hosts for Assam butterflies

Q1. Which one of the following best describes Raimona National Park?

  • A. Assam's sixth national park, carved from the northern part of the Ripu Reserve Forest in Kokrajhar district
  • B. Assam's seventh national park, carved from the Chirang Reserve Forest in Chirang district
  • C. Assam's fifth national park, carved from the Manas Reserve Forest in Baksa district
  • D. Assam's sixth national park, carved from the Dihing Reserve Forest in Dibrugarh district

Q2. In which year was Raimona formally notified as Assam's sixth national park?

  • A. 2018
  • B. 2020
  • C. 2021
  • D. 2023

Q3. With reference to the transboundary conservation landscape (exceeding 2,400 sq km) that Raimona National Park forms, consider the following statements: 1. It includes Bhutan's Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary. 2. It includes West Bengal's Buxa Tiger Reserve. 3. The combined landscape spans more than 2,400 sq km. 4. It includes Nepal's Shuklaphanta National Park. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. It includes Bhutan's Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary.
  2. It includes West Bengal's Buxa Tiger Reserve.
  3. The combined landscape spans more than 2,400 sq km.
  4. It includes Nepal's Shuklaphanta National Park.
  • A. 1 and 4
  • B. 4 only
  • C. 2 and 3
  • D. 3 and 4

Q4. Buxa, one of the protected areas that together with Raimona and Phibsoo forms a transboundary conservation landscape, holds which one of the following designations?

  • A. It is designated a Tiger Reserve, located in West Bengal
  • B. It is designated a National Park only, located in Assam
  • C. It is a Biosphere Reserve only, located in Arunachal Pradesh
  • D. It is a Wildlife Sanctuary only, located in Sikkim

Q5. Among the invasive alien plants of India, which one has been identified as the fastest-spreading, expanding at nearly 1,988 sq km per year?

  • A. Lantana camara
  • B. Chromolaena odorata
  • C. Prosopis juliflora
  • D. Parthenium hysterophorus

Q6. According to recent assessments, roughly how many major invasive alien plant species are now present across two-thirds of India's natural ecosystems?

  • A. 5
  • B. 8
  • C. 11
  • D. 20

Q7. The 2022–2025 study documenting invasive plants as nectar and host sources for butterflies in Raimona National Park was carried out by the Department of Zoology of which institution?

  • A. Gauhati University
  • B. Bodoland University
  • C. Cotton University
  • D. Assam University, Silchar

Q8. With reference to the findings of the Bodoland University study in Raimona National Park, consider the following statements: 1. The study documented 220 butterfly species in the park. 2. It recorded 41 larval host plant species. 3. It recorded 56 nectar plant species. 4. Lantana camara, Chromolaena odorata and Ziziphus mauritiana were among the invasive plants found to serve as nectar sources. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. The study documented 220 butterfly species in the park.
  2. It recorded 41 larval host plant species.
  3. It recorded 56 nectar plant species.
  4. Lantana camara, Chromolaena odorata and Ziziphus mauritiana were among the invasive plants found to serve as nectar sources.
  • A. 1 and 4 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q9. Consider the following statements comparing the Raimona National Park study with earlier work on invasive plants and butterflies in India: 1. The Raimona study was conducted by the Department of Zoology, Bodoland University, whereas earlier Indian Lantana–butterfly linkage work has been reported from Rajaji Tiger Reserve. 2. Rajaji Tiger Reserve lies in Uttarakhand, while Raimona National Park lies in Assam. 3. The Raimona field study was led by research scholar Kushal Choudhury under his supervisor Bishal Basumatary. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Raimona study was conducted by the Department of Zoology, Bodoland University, whereas earlier Indian Lantana–butterfly linkage work has been reported from Rajaji Tiger Reserve.
  2. Rajaji Tiger Reserve lies in Uttarakhand, while Raimona National Park lies in Assam.
  3. The Raimona field study was led by research scholar Kushal Choudhury under his supervisor Bishal Basumatary.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q10. Raimona National Park lies within the Bodoland Territorial Region. Which one of the following best describes the constitutional status of this region?

  • A. An autonomous territorial area administered by an elected council under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution
  • B. A Scheduled Area administered by a Tribes Advisory Council under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution
  • C. A separate Union Territory carved out of Assam with its own Lieutenant Governor
  • D. An area governed directly by the Governor under Article 371 special provisions, without an elected council

Q11. Consider the following statements comparing Raimona National Park with other national parks of Assam: 1. Raimona is Assam's sixth national park; the five notified earlier include Kaziranga, Manas, Nameri, Orang and Dibru-Saikhowa. 2. Among Assam's national parks, only Kaziranga and Manas hold UNESCO World Heritage status. 3. Like Kaziranga and Manas, Raimona too has been constituted as a Tiger Reserve under Project Tiger. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Raimona is Assam's sixth national park; the five notified earlier include Kaziranga, Manas, Nameri, Orang and Dibru-Saikhowa.
  2. Among Assam's national parks, only Kaziranga and Manas hold UNESCO World Heritage status.
  3. Like Kaziranga and Manas, Raimona too has been constituted as a Tiger Reserve under Project Tiger.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3