Environment & Biodiversity MCQs

Notes:
Flying Fox is a bat which is found in tropical forests and swamps, near bodies of water all over India.

Notes:
The Melkote Temple Wildlife Sanctuary (MTWS) is located in Mandya district of Karnataka and is spread over 45.82 square kilometres. This sanctuary is primarily to house wolves. Other mammals found in this sanctuary include the jungle cat, leopard, bonnet macaque, langur and pangolin. Around 230 species of birds have been observed here over the years. The Sanctuary has been known for its once abundant Cycas circinalis species, which in the recent time has been over exploited by the flower decorators and local doctors.

Notes:
The Samaspur Sanctuary is located near Salon in Rae Bareli district of Uttar Pradesh, which is established in 1987, and covers an area of about 780 hectares of land. The best time to visit the place is between November to March. More than 250 varieties of birds can be seen here such as Greylag Goose, Pintail, Common Teal, Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Shoveler and Ruddy Shelduck (Surkhab).

Notes:
The Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary (TWS) is located in South Tripura District of Tripura and covers an area of about 163.08 square kilometres. It has a number of perennial water rivulets, water bodies and grass land. In this sanctuary, there are patches of virgin forests which are rich in rare vegetation. Indian Gaur (Bison) is an attraction of this sanctuary. Apart from it, there are varieties of Birds, Deers, Hollock Gibbon, Golden Langur, Capped Langur, Pheasant and many other animals and reptiles.

Notes:
The Nameri National Park (NNP) is located in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in the Sonitpur District of Assam and covers an area of 200 km2. This forest has over 600 species. Some notable species are Gmelina arborea, Michelia champaca, Amari and Bonjolokia. The park is an ideal habitat for a host of other animals including the tiger, leopard, sambar, dhole (the Asiatic wild dog), pygmy hog and Indian wild bison. It is home for orchids like Dendrobium, Cymbidiumand Cypripedioideae.

Notes:
Panda is there in the logo of World Wildlife fund. The inspiration for the WWF logo came from Chi-Chi, a giant panda that was living at the London Zoo in 1961,which is the same year WWF was created. WWF’s founders wanted a strong, recognizable symbol that would overcome all language barriers.

Notes:
Cerbera odollam, commonly known as the Suicide tree, Pong-pong, and Othalanga. It is a species of tree native to India and other parts of southern Asia. It grows wild along the coast in many parts of Kerala. It yields a potent poison, often used for suicide or murder. The kernels of C. Odollam contain cerberin, a potent cardenolide glycoside belonging to the cardiac glycoside family of toxins that includes digoxin. The poison blocks the calcium ion channels in heart muscle, causing disruption of the heart beat. This is most often fatal. Cerberin is difficult to detect in autopsies and its taste can be masked with strong spices. Therefore it is often used in homicide and suicide in India.

Notes:
The state of Madhya Pradesh has the maximum numbers of national parks. MP has six Tiger Reserves i.e. Kanha, Pench, Satpura, Bandhavgarh, Panna and Sanjay. Madhya Pradesh is followed by Kerala, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand and West Bengal. MP is planning to add 11 more protected areas.

Notes:
Brazil is known as the leader of the biofuel industry and the world’s first sustainable biofuels economy. In the year 2009, Brazil adopted new sustainability policies for sugarcane ethanol.

Notes:
Sultanpur National Park, formerly known as Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary, is located in the state of Haryana. During winter, a large number of migratory birds come here. Some of the migratory bird species are Siberian cranes, common greenshank, northern pintail, greater flamingo, ruff, black winged stilt, common teal, yellow wagtail, white wagtail, northern shoveller, rosy pelican.