UPSC Prelims 2017 · Question 60 of 99

UPSC Prelims 2017 question on Schedule I Species Hunting

According to the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which of the following animals cannot be hunted by any person except under some provisions provided by law?

1. Gharial
2. Indian wild ass
3. Wild buffalo

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
Show answer

Answer: D. 1, 2 and 3

Verdict

The answer is 1, 2 and 3. Gharial, Indian wild ass and wild buffalo are all Schedule I species.

Analysis

All three animals are listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which confers the highest degree of protection, so none may be hunted except under the narrow statutory exceptions such as danger to human life or terminal disease. The gharial survives in a few north Indian river systems, the Indian wild ass is confined to the Little Rann of Kachchh, and the wild buffalo persists in pockets of central India and the North-East. All three are threatened species with severely restricted ranges.

Source

NCERT, Contemporary India II, and environment ministry material on the Act.

How to crack it

Reason from range and rarity rather than from the schedule list. A species confined to one small area or to a handful of scattered pockets is almost certainly Schedule I, because that is exactly what the schedule is for. All three animals here are highly restricted endemics or near endemics, so all three qualify, and the inclusive option is the natural answer once you test each species for range rather than trying to recall the schedule.

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