Environment & Biodiversity Current Affairs MCQs

Notes:
A forest fire has been raging for five days in the Valley of Flowers, a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site, prompting Uttarakhand authorities to seek Indian Air Force (IAF) assistance. The Valley of Flowers National Park is located in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand and covers about 87 square kilometres. It was discovered in 1931 by British mountaineers led by Frank S. Smythe. The park is a core zone of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve along with Nanda Devi National Park. It forms a transition zone between the Zanskar and Great Himalayan ranges. The area is famous for alpine meadows, rich biodiversity, scenic beauty, and snow-covered Himalayan peaks.

Notes:
A new hedgehog species, Brandt’s hedgehog, has been discovered for the first time in India in Jammu and Kashmir through Deoxyribonucleic Acid analysis and morphological studies. Brandt’s hedgehog is a desert hedgehog scientifically known as Paraechinus hypomelas. It is native to the Middle East and Central Asia, including Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan. The species lives in arid and semi-arid habitats such as rocky deserts, scrublands, and dry mountain slopes. It is listed as Least Concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.

Notes:
Bhitarkanika National Park in Kendrapara district of Odisha has reported a marginal rise in migratory birds as per the latest forest department census. The park covers about 672 square kilometres of mangrove swamps formed by the Brahmani, Baitarani, and Dhamra river delta. It contains creeks, backwaters, estuaries, deltas, and mudflats and is surrounded by Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary. Gahirmatha Beach and Marine Sanctuary lie to the east near the Bay of Bengal. It is India’s second largest mangrove ecosystem after the Sundarbans and is a Ramsar site.

Notes:
For the first time, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department has started a study on the Madras Hedgehog in the Theri forests. Madras Hedgehog, locally called Mulleli, is a small mammal also known as the bare-bellied hedgehog, discovered in 1851. It has sharp spines on the back and soft white fur on the belly, using spines for protection from predators. It is nocturnal, curls into a ball for defence, and survives in dry and harsh landscapes. It inhabits dry scrublands, thorn forests, grasslands, and farmland edges. The species is endemic to peninsular India, found in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and parts of Karnataka.

Notes:
The Tripura Forest Minister announced that the state has received over ₹57 crore for the modernisation and further development of Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary. Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the Sepahijala district of Tripura. The sanctuary includes important water bodies such as Abasarika Lake and Amrit Sagar Lake. Clouded Leopard National Park is a part of the Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary.

Notes:
The Rusty-spotted Cat, one of the rarest and smallest wild cats in the world, was recently spotted in the Shergarh forest of Baran district, Rajasthan. It is the world’s smallest and lightest known cat species. The species is found in dry deciduous and semi-deciduous forests of northern and central India, the Western Ghats, Kachchh, Rajasthan, and peninsular India. It is also distributed in Nepal and Sri Lanka. India supports about 80 percent of the global population of this species. Its conservation status on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List is Near Threatened.

Notes:
Thailand launched its first rewilding effort by releasing a young Indo-Pacific leopard shark near Maiton Island. Indo-Pacific leopard sharks are also called zebra sharks due to their changing spotted or striped patterns with age. They are slow-swimming reef sharks found in tropical coastal waters of the Indo-Pacific. It is classified as Endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Notes:
The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has launched a digital portal for issuing Certificates of Origin for cultivated medicinal plants. The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) functions under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The portal enables stakeholders to obtain Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) exemptions through an end-to-end online, single-window system.

Notes:
Researchers confirmed a new dragonfly species named Lyriothemis keralensis from the low-lying coastal regions of Kerala. It is commonly called the Slender Bombardier and belongs to the genus Lyriothemis. It was identified as a separate species after detailed comparison with its Northeast Indian relative Lyriothemis acigastra. The species has a slender abdomen, uniquely shaped tail, and distinct genital structures. It appears during the monsoon season and disappears as rainfall decreases.

Notes:
The first scientific assessment of the Fishing cat has identified Kaziranga National Park and Kaziranga Tiger Reserve as strongholds of this small wild feline species. The fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) is a medium-sized wild cat known for its strong association with wetlands. It inhabits a variety of wetland ecosystems, including mangrove forests, swamps, marshes, and floodplains. It is native to South and Southeast Asia and has a fragmented distribution across the region. In India, it is primarily found in the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, along the foothills of the Himalayas in the Ganga and Brahmaputra river valleys, and in parts of the Western Ghats.