📘 Q.4 IAS Prelims 2024 — Environment & Ecology (Animal Geography | Natural Habitat)🧷 Authentic Classroom Explanation by IAS Monk
📌 The Question:
Consider the following pairs :
| Country | Animal found in its natural habitat |
|---|---|
| 1. Brazil | Indri |
| 2. Indonesia | Elk |
| 3. Madagascar | Bonobo |
How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) All three
(d) None
✅ Correct Answer: (d) None
🔍 Classroom Explanation (Pair-wise Check):
- Pair 1: Brazil — Indri ❌
The Indri (Babakoto) is one of the largest living lemurs and is endemic to Madagascar, not Brazil.
It inhabits Madagascar’s rainforests and is threatened due to deforestation. - Pair 2: Indonesia — Elk ❌
Elk (Wapiti) are native to North America and parts of Central & East Asia, not Indonesia.
Indonesia’s fauna is dominated by tropical species, not large temperate deer like elk. - Pair 3: Madagascar — Bonobo ❌
Bonobos (Pygmy chimpanzees) are found only in the Congo Basin of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Central Africa).
Madagascar has no native great apes.
✔️ Hence, none of the pairs are correctly matched.
🧠 Curiosity Raiser:
Why does Madagascar have lemurs but no monkeys or apes?
👉 Because it split from Africa before monkeys evolved, making its fauna a living museum of evolution.
📚 Enrich Notes (Prelims Gold):
- Madagascar → Lemurs (Indri, Sifaka), no monkeys
- Congo Basin → Bonobo, Chimpanzee
- Indonesia → Orangutans, Komodo dragon
- Elk → Temperate regions, not tropical rainforests
🕊️ IAS Monk Whisper:
“In ecology, geography is destiny — animals never forget the land that shaped them.”
