Environment & Biodiversity Current Affairs MCQs

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A major fire recently broke out in Mukundra Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan due to sparks from stone crushing. Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve is located near Kota in southeastern Rajasthan. It is named after two long, flat-topped hills from the Vindhyan range, stretching 80 km in length and 2 to 5 km in width. The reserve was declared in 2013 and includes Mukundra National Park, Dara Sanctuary, Jawahar Sagar Sanctuary, and part of Chambal Sanctuary. Earlier, it was the royal hunting ground of the Maharaja of Kota.

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A rare long-snouted vine snake called Ahaetulla longirostris was recently rediscovered during a rhino release at Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh. This is the first sighting in Uttar Pradesh and only the second in India, with the first being in Valmiki Tiger Reserve, Bihar. The snake’s usual habitat is in Southeast Asia, and it was also spotted earlier in parts of Odisha. It belongs to the Colubridae family, mostly made up of non-venomous snakes, and has a long green or brown slender body for camouflage. Dudhwa Tiger Reserve lies on the Indo-Nepal border in Lakhimpur Kheri district, Uttar Pradesh, and includes Dudhwa National Park, Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary, Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, and nearby forest areas.

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Citizens and environmentalists launched the ‘Save Bandipur’ protest in Karnataka after reports that the government may lift the night traffic ban on National Highway 766 (NH-766), which passes through Bandipur National Park. Bandipur National Park is a protected forest and tiger reserve located in Chamarajanagar district, Karnataka. It was first set up in 1931 as Venugopala Wildlife Park by the Maharaja of Mysore, covering 90 square kilometers. It became a Tiger Reserve in 1973 under Project Tiger and joined the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in 1986 due to its rich biodiversity and ecological importance.

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Kerala and Tamil Nadu jointly conducts a Nilgiri Tahr census to mark 50 years of Eravikulam National Park. Eravikulam National Park, Kerala’s first national park, was a sanctuary in 1975 and became a national park in 1978. It was mainly established to protect the endangered Nilgiri Tahr, a mountain goat species found only in the Western Ghats of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The park also shelters species like Lion-tailed Macaques and Nilgiri Langurs. Nilgiri Tahr is also the state animal of Tamil Nadu.

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Asiatic lions, also called Persian Lions or Indian Lions, belong to the subspecies Panthera leo persica and are found only in India, mainly in Gir National Park, Gujarat. Once spread across West Asia and the Middle East, they are now extinct outside India, making Gir their last home. As per the 2020 lion census by the Gujarat Forest Department, there are 674 lions across 30,000 sq km in nine districts and 53 talukas of Saurashtra. Lions are now moving beyond Gir, even reaching Diu Island, showing healthy range expansion. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed them as Endangered since 2008, improved from Critically Endangered in the 1990s due to successful conservation.

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A study found that Bonobos use vocal communication with compositionality, meaning they combine sounds to create new meanings like human language Compositionality is the ability to join meaningful sounds or words into larger structures where the full meaning depends on both the parts and their arrangement Bonobos share 98.7% of their DNA with humans, just like chimpanzees, making them our closest relatives They are slightly smaller, leaner, and darker than chimpanzees, and live in peaceful, female-led groups Bonobos are found only in the forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Their status is listed as Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List

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A new frog species named Leptobrachium aryatium was discovered in Garbhanga Reserve Forest near Guwahati, Assam, after a 21-year-long study. It was first studied in 2004 but misidentified as Leptobrachium smithi. The discovery site lies near Deepor Beel, a Ramsar wetland site, and is part of the Garbhanga-Rani-Deepar Beel elephant corridor. The species was named after Arya Vidyapeeth College, which helped transform the local area from a liquor brewing zone to an educational hub. The frog has orange-and-black eyes, a reticulated throat, and makes rhythmic dusk-time calls. Its identification was confirmed through morphology, DNA analysis, and bioacoustics.

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The Maharashtra State Wildlife Board has approved the declaration of DPS Flamingo Lake as a conservation reserve. It is the first wetland linked to the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary (TCFS) to receive such protection. The 30-acre lake is a key feeding and resting site for flamingos during high tide. A committee was formed after 17 flamingos died due to blocked tidal inlets in 2023. About 60 percent of the algae-filled lake has been cleared, helping flamingos return. Experts from the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) warned that wetland loss may push birds near Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), raising bird strike risks.

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The International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) has officially signed an agreement with the Government of India to set up its headquarters and secretariat in India. IBCA was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April 2023 during the 50th anniversary of Project Tiger. It was formally approved by the Union Cabinet in February 2024. IBCA is implemented by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). The alliance aims to protect seven major big cat species: Tiger, Lion, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Puma, Jaguar, and Cheetah.

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China is increasing its activities in the Yellow Sea after aggressive actions in the South China Sea, including building a huge steel rig. The Yellow Sea is called Huang Hai in China and West Sea in North and South Korea. It is a marginal sea of Western Pacific Ocean and lies north of the East China Sea. It is bordered by China on the north and west, and by North Korea and South Korea on the east. The sea gets its yellow color from sand particles blown in from the Gobi Desert. It covers about 400,000 square kilometers and stretches around 960 kilometers north to south and 700 kilometers east to west. It is shallow, with depths ranging from 55 to 120 meters. It includes one of the world’s largest areas of submerged continental shelf.