UPSC Prelims 2016 · Question 69 of 98

UPSC Prelims 2016 question on Kharai Camel

What is/are unique about ‘Kharai camel’, a breed found in India?

1. It is capable of swimming up to three kilometres in seawater.

2. It survives by grazing on mangroves.

3. It lives in the wild and cannot be domesticated.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 and 2 only

Verdict

The answer is 1 and 2 only. The Kharai camel swims and grazes on mangroves, but it is domesticated rather than wild.

Analysis

Statement 1 is CORRECT. The breed can swim up to three kilometres into the sea in search of mangroves, an ability unique among Indian camels. Statement 2 is CORRECT. It grazes on mangroves and tolerates saline water, and is found only along Gujarat's coastal areas, particularly in Kachchh. Statement 3 is INCORRECT. The Kharai is very much a domesticated breed, one of the most preferred among graziers of the arid coastal region, whose milk is consumed and whose male calves are sold for economic return.

Source

The Hindu and Down To Earth reporting on the Kharai camel.

How to crack it

The word breed in the stem is the giveaway, because a breed is by definition the product of human selection and a wild population is not described as a breed. That single reading of the stem falsifies statement 3 before you know anything about the animal. Train yourself to read the stem's own vocabulary as evidence, since UPSC often plants the disproof of one statement in the wording of the question itself.

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