UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Indian-born Cheetah gives birth to 5 Healthy Cubs at Kuno National Park; India’s Cheetah Population reaches 60

Q1. With reference to the IUCN Guidelines for Reintroductions and Other Conservation Translocations (2013), consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A reintroduction releases a species into a part of its indigenous range from which it has disappeared.
  2. A release counts as a reintroduction only if the animals released were caught in the wild and not bred in captivity.
  3. Assisted colonisation is a form of reintroduction, because it moves a species back to sites where it lived historically.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q2. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Under IUCN guidance, releasing a species outside its indigenous range is regarded as an especially high-risk form of conservation translocation.
  2. Reinforcement is a conservation translocation in which individuals are released into an existing population of the same species within its indigenous range.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q3. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. On the IUCN Red List, the cheetah subspecies that once occurred in India is placed in a higher threat category than the cheetah species as a whole.
  2. The cheetah species as a whole has a much larger and more widely spread population, while the Asiatic subspecies survives as a very small population confined to Iran.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q4. With reference to the management of a reintroduced large carnivore population, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The number of large carnivores a habitat can support over time is set largely by prey availability and space, so increasing prey density can raise that number on the same land.
  2. When a population grows beyond what its protected area can support, young animals dispersing beyond the area's boundaries is an expected result.
  3. A metapopulation consists of spatially separate sub-populations linked by the occasional movement of individuals between them.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q5. Consider the following facts about Project Cheetah: Kuno National Park has a core area of about 748 km². One cheetah mother and her cubs have been recorded using about 6,160 km². India's cheetah count has reached 60, including newborn cubs. The project's stated goal is a self-sustaining metapopulation of 60–70 cheetahs spread across the Kuno–Gandhi Sagar landscape. Which of the following inferences can be drawn from the above facts?

  1. The space cheetahs need can extend far beyond the boundaries of a single protected area.
  2. Reaching a count of 60 animals shows by itself that the population has become self-sustaining.
  3. Meeting the stated goal requires cheetahs to be established at more than one site within the wider landscape.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1 only

Q6. A wildlife population is founded from a small number of animals and then receives no new individuals from outside for many generations. Consider the following consequences: Which of the consequences given above is/are most likely?

  1. Some genetic variants are gradually lost by chance from one generation to the next.
  2. Heterozygosity steadily rises across generations as the population grows in number.
  3. Mating between related individuals becomes more frequent, which can reduce survival and fertility.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 1 only
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q7. Consider the following assertion: Establishing a free-ranging cheetah population can benefit India's grassland and semi-arid ecosystems beyond the cheetah itself. Which of the statements given above support/supports the assertion?

  1. Cheetahs are ambush predators adapted mainly to dense, closed-canopy forests.
  2. Securing the large areas a cheetah needs means protecting open grassland and savanna habitat that many other species also depend on.
  3. A top predator can regulate herbivore numbers and thereby the grazing pressure on vegetation.
  • A. 2 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1 and 3 only