SSC
In the wild, giant pandas are now found only in:
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Answer: Option D — China
Detailed Solution
In the wild, giant pandas are now found only in China, in the mountain forests of central and south-western China.
About giant pandas in the wild:
- They live in the mountain ranges of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, at heights of about 1,200 to 3,400 metres.
- More than three-quarters of wild pandas live in Sichuan province.
- They live in cool, wet bamboo forests.
- According to China's fourth national survey (2015), there were about 1,864 giant pandas in the wild.
- In 2021, China launched the "Giant Panda National Park", covering about 27,000 square kilometres in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu.
- The "Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries" (Wolong, Mount Siguniang and Jiajin Mountains) are a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2006).
About the giant panda:
- Its scientific name is "Ailuropoda melanoleuca".
- It is a bear, belonging to the family Ursidae.
More than 99 per cent of its diet is bamboo, although it is classified as a carnivore. It eats about 12-38 kg of bamboo every day.
It has a special "pseudo-thumb" (an enlarged wrist bone) that helps it grip bamboo.
Conservation status:
The IUCN Red List changed its status from "Endangered" to "Vulnerable" in 2016, because its numbers had increased due to conservation efforts.
It is the symbol of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), founded in 1961. The logo was inspired by a panda named "Chi Chi" at the London Zoo.
"Panda diplomacy": China lends pandas to zoos in other countries as a sign of friendship.
Red panda:
- The red panda ("Ailurus fulgens") is a different animal, not closely related to the giant panda.
- It is found in the eastern Himalayas, including India (Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal's Darjeeling district and Meghalaya), Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and China.
- It is the state animal of Sikkim.
- It is listed as "Endangered" by the IUCN.
- The Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in Darjeeling runs a red panda breeding programme.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Nepal has red pandas but no giant pandas.
- ✗India has red pandas in the eastern Himalayas but no wild giant pandas.
- ✗Japan has giant pandas only in zoos.
Quick tip
Remember: Giant panda = wild only in China (Sichuan, Shaanxi, Gansu; Giant Panda National Park 2021; "Vulnerable" since 2016; WWF logo); red panda = eastern Himalayas, state animal of Sikkim ("Endangered").
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Biodiversity, National Parks & Wildlife — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Biodiversity, National Parks & Wildlife, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers biodiversity and its conservation: biodiversity hotspots, endangered and endemic species, the IUCN Red List, in-situ and ex-situ conservation, India's national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, tiger reserves and biosphere reserves, and wildlife conservation projects. Questions commonly ask in which state a national park is located and which animal it is known for (Kaziranga in Assam for the one-horned rhinoceros, and Gir in Gujarat for the Asiatic lion), when Project Tiger began (1973), and which regions of India are biodiversity hotspots. The number of protected areas changes as new ones are declared, so check the latest lists. Practise the biodiversity and conservation questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.