Biodiversity and species: previous-year questions
73 real UPSC Prelims questions (2011–2026) with the official answer and a clear explanation. 26 of them came in the last five papers.
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Questions per year, counted from the official papers.
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In India, if a species of tortoise is declared protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, what does it imply ?
Answer (a) & explanation
Schedule I listing gives the same protection as the tiger (a). Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 gives the highest protection and the heaviest penalties: jail of 3 to 7 years and a fine of at least ₹25,000. Every animal on it gets the same level of protection, whether it is a tiger or a star tortoise. Listing does not mean the animal is extinct in the wild or beyond saving (b). It does not mean it is endemic to one region (c). So (d) is wrong too.
After the 2022 amendment, there are four Schedules: I and II for animals with different levels of protection, III for plants, and IV for CITES species. Notice the protected Indian tortoises, such as the Indian star tortoise and the Travancore tortoise.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Recently, for the first time in our country, which of the following States has declared a particular butterfly as ‘State Butterfly’?
Answer (d) & explanation
Maharashtra was the first (d). In 2015, Maharashtra declared the Blue Mormon (Papilio polymnestor) its State butterfly. It is a large, velvety black-and-blue swallowtail found mainly in the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka. Arunachal Pradesh (a), Himachal Pradesh (b) and Karnataka (c) were not first. Karnataka later chose the Southern Birdwing, India's largest butterfly, and Kerala chose the Malabar Banded Peacock.
Butterflies are good bio-indicators because they react quickly to habitat and climate change. Notice the trend that followed, as Uttarakhand chose the Common Peacock and Tamil Nadu the Tamil Yeoman. Expect questions on such State symbols, which tie local identity to conservation.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
In which of the following regions of India are you most likely to come across the ‘Great Indian Hornbill’ in its natural habitat?
Answer (d) & explanation
The Great Indian Hornbill needs tall evergreen and moist deciduous forest with big fruiting trees and nesting holes. In India it lives in the Western Ghats (d) and in the forests of the North-East and Himalayan foothills. The sand deserts (a), high Himalayas (b) and salt marshes of Gujarat (c) lack such forest.
It is the state bird of Kerala and Arunachal Pradesh. Hornbills are called "farmers of the forest" because they spread seeds of many trees. The Hornbill Festival of Nagaland is named after it. Notice how one bird's survival depends on old, tall trees.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
What is/are unique about ‘Kharai camel’, a breed found in India?
- 1. It is capable of swimming up to three kilometres in seawater.
- 2. It survives by grazing on mangroves.
- 3. It lives in the wild and cannot be domesticated.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (a) & explanation
Statements 1 and 2 are correct (a). The Kharai camel ("kharai" means saline) of Kachchh, Gujarat, can swim up to about 3 km in seawater (1) to reach the islands of the Gulf of Kachchh, where it feeds on mangroves (2). Statement 3 is wrong: it is a domesticated breed, reared by Rabari and Fakirani Jat herders.
It was recognised as a distinct breed in 2015. Mangrove loss, salt pans and industry along the coast threaten its grazing grounds. Notice how this links pastoral communities, coastal ecology and breed conservation; the Marine National Park in the Gulf of Kachchh lies in the same region.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Recently, our scientists have discovered a new and distinct species of banana plant which attains a height of about 11 metres and has orange-coloured fruit pulp. In which part of India has it been discovered?
Answer (a) & explanation
The new banana was found in the Andaman Islands (a). Named Musa indandamanensis, it was discovered in 2014 in a remote forest on Little Andaman. It grows to about 11 metres and has unusual orange-coloured pulp. The Anaimalai forests (b), the Maikala Hills (c) and the north-east rainforests (d) were not where it was found.
The Botanical Survey of India described the species. Wild bananas are valuable as gene pools for breeding disease-resistant cultivated varieties. Notice how island ecosystems, isolated for long periods, produce high endemism, which is why the Andaman and Nicobar Islands keep yielding new species.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to an initiative called ‘The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB)’, which of the following statements is/are correct?
- 1. It is an initiative hosted by UNEP, IMF and World Economic Forum.
- 2. It is a global initiative that focuses on drawing attention to the economic benefits of biodiversity.
- 3. It presents an approach that can help decision-makers recognize, demonstrate and capture the value of ecosystems and biodiversity.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (c) & explanation
Statements 2 and 3 are correct (c). TEEB began in 2007 after a G8+5 environment ministers' meeting in Potsdam. Germany and the European Commission backed it, and it is hosted by UNEP. Statement 1 is wrong because the IMF and WEF do not host it. TEEB draws attention to the economic benefits of biodiversity (2). It also gives decision-makers a way to recognise, demonstrate and capture the value of ecosystems (3), for example through payments for ecosystem services.
The idea is that nature is lost partly because its services look "free". Notice how it connects with natural capital accounting, including the UN SEEA framework that India's MoSPI uses for its EnviStats environmental accounts.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to ‘Red Sanders’, sometimes seen in the news, consider the following statements :
- 1. It is a tree species found in a part of South India.
- 2. It is one of the most important trees in the tropical rain forest areas of south India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (a) & explanation
Only statement 1 is correct (a). Red sanders (Pterocarpus santalinus) is endemic to the southern Eastern Ghats, mainly the Seshachalam, Palakonda and Lankamala hills of Andhra Pradesh, with small extensions into Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Statement 2 is wrong because it grows in dry deciduous forest on rocky, poor soil, not in tropical rainforest. So it is neither a rainforest tree nor one of the "most important" ones there.
Its deep red heartwood is prized in China and Japan for furniture and instruments, so it is smuggled heavily. It is Endangered on the IUCN Red List and listed in CITES Appendix II. The Pushpa films made this smuggling famous, and it is a favourite species question.
"Rain forest" is the error. Red sanders grows on dry, rocky hills.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which of the following statements is/are correct?
- 1. IUCN is an organ of the United Nations and CITES is an international agreement between governments.
- 2. IUCN runs thousands of field projects around the world to better manage natural environments.
- 3. CITES is legally binding on the States that have joined it, but this Convention does not take the place of national laws.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (b) & explanation
Statements 2 and 3 are correct (b). IUCN (1948, Gland) is a membership union of governments and NGOs, not a UN organ, though it has UN observer status, so statement 1 is wrong. IUCN runs field projects worldwide and publishes the Red List (2 correct). CITES (1973) is legally binding on its Parties, but it does not replace national laws: each country must pass its own law to apply it (3 correct).
In India, CITES is applied through the Wildlife (Protection) Act, amended in 2022 to add a schedule of CITES species. Notice how global treaties work only through domestic law.
Being a UN observer does not make IUCN a UN organ.
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Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which one of the following is the national aquatic animal of India?
Answer (c) & explanation
The Gangetic river dolphin was declared India's National Aquatic Animal in 2009 (c). It is nearly blind, finds its way and prey by echolocation, and is listed as Endangered. The saltwater crocodile (a), olive ridley turtle (b) and gharial (d) are important protected species but not the national aquatic animal.
The Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary in Bihar protects it, and Project Dolphin was announced in 2020. The first nationwide count, released in 2025, found about 6,300 of them. Notice how the dolphin acts as an indicator of a healthy river, like the tiger for forests.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to an organization known as ‘BirdLife International’, which of the following statements is/are correct?
- 1. It is a Global Partnership of Conservation Organizations.
- 2. The concept of ‘biodiversity hotspots’ originated from this organization.
- 3. It identifies the sites known/referred to as ‘Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas’.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (c) & explanation
Statements 1 and 3 are correct (c). BirdLife International is a global partnership of national conservation organisations; its Indian partner is the BNHS (1). It identifies Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs), sites vital for birds and wider biodiversity (3). Statement 2 is wrong: the biodiversity hotspot idea came from the British ecologist Norman Myers in 1988 and was later adopted by Conservation International.
BirdLife is also the Red List authority for birds within IUCN. India has four hotspots: the Himalaya, Indo-Burma, the Western Ghats–Sri Lanka and Sundaland (Nicobar). Notice how birds act as indicators of ecosystem health.
Hotspots are Myers' idea. BirdLife is known for IBAs.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Every year, a monthlong ecologically important campaign/festival is held during which certain communities/tribes plant saplings of fruit-bearing trees. Which of the following are such communities/tribes?
Answer (b) & explanation
The Gond and Korku tribes of Madhya Pradesh, mainly in Betul and Harda districts, hold a month-long tree-planting festival in the monsoon, planting saplings of fruit trees such as mango and jamun (b). The other pairs are real tribes but not linked to this festival: Bhutia and Lepcha of Sikkim, Irula and Toda of the Nilgiris, and Sahariya and Agariya of central India.
It is a living example of community conservation, where faith and custom protect nature. Notice how this echoes sacred groves, the Bishnois of Rajasthan and the Chipko movement: forests often survive best where people see themselves as their keepers.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following international agreements :
- 1. The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
- 2. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
- 3. The World Heritage Convention
Which of the above has/have a bearing on the biodiversity?
Answer (d) & explanation
All three bear on biodiversity (d). The Plant Treaty (FAO, 2001) conserves the genetic diversity of crops and shares their benefits (1). The UNCCD (1994) protects drylands and the life they support (2). The World Heritage Convention (1972) protects natural sites such as Kaziranga, Manas and the Western Ghats (3).
These sit with the CBD, CITES, the Ramsar Convention and the Convention on Migratory Species among the biodiversity-related conventions that coordinate their work. Notice how biodiversity is protected not by one treaty but by a web of them, each with its own focus.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), consider the following statements :
- 1. It is an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
- 2. It strives to conserve nature through action-based research, education and public awareness.
- 3. It organizes and conducts nature trails and camps for the general public.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (c) & explanation
The BNHS (founded in 1883 in Mumbai) is a non-government society, not an autonomous body under the environment ministry, so statement 1 is wrong. It does action-based research, education and public awareness (2 correct), and it runs nature trails and camps for the public (3 correct).
Its best-known figure is Salim Ali, the "Birdman of India", and it is BirdLife International's partner in India. BNHS research has shaped work on vultures, bustards and Important Bird Areas. Notice how UPSC often tests whether an organisation is governmental or not: a quick check that removes many wrong options.
Getting government grants does not make the BNHS a government body.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to a conservation organization called ‘Wetlands International’, which of the following statements is/are correct?
- 1. It is an intergovernmental organization formed by the countries which are signatories to Ramsar Convention.
- 2. It works at the field level to develop and mobilize knowledge, and use the practical experience to advocate for better policies.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (b) & explanation
Wetlands International is a global non-profit NGO, headquartered in the Netherlands. It is not an intergovernmental body formed by the Ramsar parties, so statement 1 is wrong. It does work at the field level, builds knowledge and uses that experience to advocate for better policies (2 correct).
It is one of the official International Organisation Partners of the Ramsar Convention, along with bodies like BirdLife, IUCN and WWF. It also has a South Asia office in New Delhi. Notice how "partner of a convention" and "created by a convention" are two different things, a distinction UPSC likes to test.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Other than poaching, what are the possible reasons for the decline in the population of Ganges River Dolphins?
- 1. Construction of dams and barrages on rivers
- 2. Increase in the population of crocodiles in rivers
- 3. Getting trapped in fishing nets accidentally
- 4. Use of synthetic fertilizers and other agricultural chemicals in crop-fields in the vicinity of rivers.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (c) & explanation
Dams and barrages fragment dolphin populations and reduce flow (1 correct). Dolphins drown as bycatch in fishing nets (3 correct), and farm chemicals washing into rivers poison their habitat (4 correct). Statement 2 is wrong: crocodile numbers are themselves low and crocodiles are not a cause of decline, so options (a), (b) and (d) fail.
The Ganges River Dolphin is India's national aquatic animal (2009) and is listed as Endangered. It is nearly blind and finds prey by echolocation. Project Dolphin (2020) and the Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary in Bihar work for its protection. Notice how its health is a sign of the river's health.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following :
- 1. Bats
- 2. Bears
- 3. Rodents
The phenomenon of hibernation can be observed in which of the above kinds of animals?
Answer (c) & explanation
All three show it (c). Many bats hibernate in caves in winter. Bears enter a deep winter sleep, a form of hibernation in which body temperature falls only a little. Many rodents, such as ground squirrels, marmots and dormice, are true hibernators. Options (a), (b) and (d) each leave out a group that does hibernate.
Hibernation saves energy when food is scarce in cold seasons. Its summer counterpart is aestivation, seen in some snails, lungfish and frogs during heat and drought. Notice how adaptation questions often turn on temperature and food: the same logic explains migration in birds.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
If you walk through countryside, you are likely to see some birds stalking alongside the cattle to seize the insects disturbed by their movement through grasses. Which of the following is/are such bird/birds?
- 1. Painted Stork
- 2. Common Myna
- 3. Black-necked Crane
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (b) & explanation
The common myna walks beside grazing cattle and snaps up insects stirred up from the grass (b), as does the cattle egret. The painted stork is a wading bird that feeds on fish in shallow water, not beside cattle. The black-necked crane lives in high-altitude wetlands of Ladakh and Tibet and winters in places like Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan, far from lowland fields.
This feeding pattern is a kind of commensalism: the bird benefits and the cattle are largely unaffected. Notice how everyday rural sights become ecology questions on species interactions.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following :
- 1. Star tortoise
- 2. Monitor lizard
- 3. Pygmy hog
- 4. Spider monkey
Which of the above are naturally found in India?
Answer (a) & explanation
Items 1, 2 and 3 are correct (a). The Indian star tortoise lives in dry scrub of peninsular India and Sri Lanka (1). Monitor lizards, such as the Bengal monitor, are widespread in India (2). The pygmy hog, the world's smallest and rarest wild pig, survives in Manas National Park and nearby grasslands in Assam (3). Item 4 is wrong: spider monkeys live only in the tropical forests of Central and South America. So (b), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice the conservation side: the star tortoise is heavily smuggled for the pet trade and was moved to CITES Appendix I in 2019. The Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme has bred and released hogs since 1996. India's only apes are the hoolock gibbons. Trap: 'monkey' sounds Indian but this one is American.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following animals :
- 1. Sea cow
- 2. Sea horse
- 3. Sea lion
Which of the above is/are mammal/mammals?
Answer (b) & explanation
Sea cow and sea lion are correct (b). The sea cow (dugong) and the sea lion are mammals: they breathe air with lungs, are warm-blooded and suckle their young (1, 3). The sea horse is a small fish, unusual because the male carries the eggs in a brood pouch (2). So (a), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice the Indian angle: the dugong lives in the Gulf of Mannar, Palk Bay and Andaman waters, and Tamil Nadu notified India's first Dugong Conservation Reserve in Palk Bay in 2022. It is the state animal of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and is in Schedule I. Seahorses are threatened by the traditional medicine trade. Trap: 'sea' in the name says nothing about the class.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
In which of the following States is lion-tailed macaque found in its natural habitat?
- 1. Tamil Nadu
- 2. Kerala
- 3. Karnataka
- 4. Andhra Pradesh
Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
Answer (a) & explanation
Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka are correct (a). The lion-tailed macaque, an Endangered primate with a silver-white mane, lives only in the rainforests of the Western Ghats in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, in places such as Silent Valley, the Anamalai hills and the Sharavathi valley (1, 2, 3). Item 4 is wrong: it is not found in Andhra Pradesh. So (b), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice the threats: habitat broken up by tea, coffee and teak plantations; only about 4,000 remain in the wild. The Silent Valley campaign of the 1980s was partly fought to save it. It is in Schedule I of the Wildlife Act. Trap: the Eastern Ghats in Andhra look similar on a map but lack its rainforest.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.