UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Nepal’s tiger numbers climb 20% to estimated 429, says survey
Q1. With reference to the national tiger census of Nepal whose results were released in July 2026, which one of the following statements is correct?
- A. It is led by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation and is carried out once every four years
- B. It is led by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation and is carried out once every ten years
- C. It is led by the Department of Forests and Soil Conservation and is carried out once every four years
- D. It is led by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Environment and is carried out once every five years
Q2. The figure of 429 tigers reported by Nepal in 2026 refers to a population estimated over which one of the following areas?
- A. Five national parks of the Terai Arc Landscape together with their buffer zones, forests and wildlife corridors
- B. Only the core zones of the five tiger-bearing national parks, buffer zones being excluded from the estimate
- C. All national parks and wildlife reserves of the country, including the high-altitude Himalayan protected areas
- D. The Chitwan-Parsa complex and its adjoining transboundary corridor with India, taken as one survey unit
Q3. The 'TX2' commitment adopted at the St Petersburg Tiger Summit of 2010 refers to which one of the following?
- A. A pledge by the 13 tiger range countries to double the number of wild tigers by the year 2022
- B. A pledge by the 13 tiger range countries to double the area of protected tiger habitat by the year 2022
- C. A pledge by the 13 tiger range countries to double the global wild tiger number by the year 2030
- D. A pledge by the 13 tiger range countries to double their financial outlay on anti-poaching by 2022
Q4. Consider the following statements regarding the Terai Arc Landscape and Nepal's tigers:
1. The Terai Arc Landscape lies entirely within Nepal and no part of it extends into India.
2. It stretches for about 800 km from the river Yamuna in the west to the river Bagmati in the east.
3. Nepal's tiger-bearing national parks within this landscape are Chitwan, Bardiya, Parsa, Banke and Shuklaphanta.
4. In the 2026 census, every one of Nepal's tiger-bearing national parks recorded a rise over its 2022 figure.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- The Terai Arc Landscape lies entirely within Nepal and no part of it extends into India.
- It stretches for about 800 km from the river Yamuna in the west to the river Bagmati in the east.
- Nepal's tiger-bearing national parks within this landscape are Chitwan, Bardiya, Parsa, Banke and Shuklaphanta.
- In the 2026 census, every one of Nepal's tiger-bearing national parks recorded a rise over its 2022 figure.
- A. 1 and 4
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 1, 2 and 4
- D. 4 only
Q5. The Terai Arc Landscape is best described as which one of the following?
- A. About 28,000 sq km of forested habitat in the Himalayan foothills of northern India and southern Nepal
- B. About 28,000 sq km of forest and grassland in the foothills of southern Bhutan and north-eastern India
- C. About 84,500 sq km of notified tiger reserves spread across the tiger-range States of India
- D. About 3,669 sq km of contiguous protected areas shared between Nepal and India along their border
Q6. In the transboundary Chitwan-Parsa-Valmiki complex, which single protected area acts as the source population supplying tigers to the other two reserves?
- A. Chitwan National Park
- B. Bardiya National Park
- C. Banke National Park
- D. Shuklaphanta National Park
Q7. The Integrated Tiger Habitat Conservation Programme (ITHCP), under which transboundary India-Nepal projects have been implemented, is which one of the following?
- A. A grant programme managed by IUCN and funded by German Cooperation through the KfW Development Bank
- B. A grant programme managed by UNDP and funded by the Global Environment Facility through its biodiversity window
- C. A lending programme of the World Bank operated under the Global Tiger Initiative for range-country governments
- D. A grant programme of the Global Tiger Forum funded by the member tiger range countries through annual dues
Q8. Consider the following statements comparing India's and Nepal's tiger population assessments:
1. Like Nepal's national tiger census, India's All India Tiger Estimation is a quadrennial exercise.
2. India's estimate rose from 2,967 in 2018 to 3,682 in 2022, while over the same interval Nepal's rose from 235 to 355.
3. India's exercise is carried out by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, whereas Nepal's is carried out by the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Like Nepal's national tiger census, India's All India Tiger Estimation is a quadrennial exercise.
- India's estimate rose from 2,967 in 2018 to 3,682 in 2022, while over the same interval Nepal's rose from 235 to 355.
- India's exercise is carried out by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, whereas Nepal's is carried out by the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q9. The All India Tiger Estimation, which placed India's tiger number at 3,682 in 2022, is carried out by which one of the following?
- A. The National Tiger Conservation Authority, along with the State Governments
- B. The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, along with the State Forest Departments
- C. The Central Zoo Authority, along with the State Biodiversity Boards
- D. The Global Tiger Forum, along with the tiger-range State Governments
Q10. Consider the following statements about the tiger's conservation status and legal protection:
1. Panthera tigris is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
2. All tiger subspecies are listed in Appendix I of CITES, so international commercial trade in tigers and their parts is prohibited.
3. Project Tiger was launched by the Government of India in 1973.
4. The National Tiger Conservation Authority was made a statutory body by the Wildlife (Protection) Act as originally enacted in 1972.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- Panthera tigris is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
- All tiger subspecies are listed in Appendix I of CITES, so international commercial trade in tigers and their parts is prohibited.
- Project Tiger was launched by the Government of India in 1973.
- The National Tiger Conservation Authority was made a statutory body by the Wildlife (Protection) Act as originally enacted in 1972.
- A. 1 and 4
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 1, 3 and 4
- D. 4 only
Q11. Which one of the following is the world's only intergovernmental organisation devoted exclusively to tiger conservation, with its headquarters in New Delhi?
- A. Global Tiger Forum
- B. Global Tiger Initiative
- C. International Big Cat Alliance
- D. National Tiger Conservation Authority