Match List - I with List - II and select the correct answer from the code given below the lists.
List - I (National Park / Wildlife Sanctuary)
A. Dachingam
B. Keoladeo
C. Kanha
D. Periyar
List - II (S

Question

Match List - I with List - II and select the correct answer from the code given below the lists.
List - I (National Park / Wildlife Sanctuary)
A. Dachingam
B. Keoladeo
C. Kanha
D. Periyar
List - II (State / Union Territory)
1. Madhya Pradesh
2. Rajasthan
3. Kerala
4. Jammu and Kashmir

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — D, A-4, B-2, C-1, D-3. Dachigam National Park — the booklet prints the name as 'Dachingam' — lies just outside Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir (4) and is the last stronghold of the hangul or Kashmir stag. Keoladeo National Park is at Bharatpur in Rajasthan (2), a man-made wetland famous for its wintering waterbirds. Kanha National Park is in Madhya Pradesh (1), in the Maikal hills, and is known for the hard-ground barasingha. Periyar National Park and Tiger Reserve is in Kerala (3), set around the Periyar reservoir in the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats. Only option (d) carries all four pairings.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) The first two pairs are right, but it then sends Kanha to Kerala and Periyar to Madhya Pradesh. Kanha is a central-Indian sal and grassland park in the Maikal range of Madhya Pradesh; Periyar is a Western Ghats park built around a reservoir in Kerala's Idukki district. The two cannot be exchanged.  (b) Every pair is wrong. It moves Dachigam to Rajasthan and Keoladeo to Jammu and Kashmir, and then also swaps Kanha with Periyar — the option is the mirror image of the correct code.  (c) Kanha and Periyar are placed correctly, but the first two are swapped: Dachigam is given to Rajasthan and Keoladeo to Jammu and Kashmir. Dachigam is a Kashmir Valley park in the Zabarwan hills; Keoladeo is the old duck-shooting reserve of the Bharatpur rulers in eastern Rajasthan.

Concept: Each of these four is a flagship protected area with a signature species or feature, and that is the reliable way to place them. Dachigam means 'ten villages' and holds the hangul, the state animal of Jammu and Kashmir. Keoladeo is a shallow man-made wetland created by the Bharatpur rulers as a duck-shooting reserve, now a Ramsar site and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Kanha is the core of Kanha Tiger Reserve and the last refuge of the hard-ground barasingha. Periyar is a tiger and elephant reserve wrapped around the reservoir created by the Mullaperiyar dam.

State PCS 2025 Q9 — Environment & Ecology PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2025 Q9 — Environment & Ecology PYQ with Answer