Question

“Elephant is the slowest breeder becoming sexually mature at the age of 30 and has
A large gestation period. A single female reproduces on an average of 6 young ones during its lifetime. If
all the young ones of a pair survive, there would be 19 million descendants at the end of 750 years”.
This is an example of
A. Inheritance of acquired characters
B. Mutation
C. Part of Darwin’s theory- overproduction
D. Mendelian theory of inheritance

Answer 1

Hint: Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals that can be distinguished from other vertebrate animals such as birds, reptiles, and amphibians due to the presence of mammary glands in females which is used for feeding milk to infants, presence of fur or hair, three middle ear bones with specific functions and a neocortex.

Complete step by step answer: Elephants are considered to be one of the largest land mammals to exist, while the Blue Whales is considered to be the largest mammal living in the water. The statement provided in the question “Elephant is the slowest breeder becoming sexually mature at the age of 30 and has a large gestation period. A single female reproduces on an average of 6 young ones during its lifetime. If all the young ones of a pair survive, there would be 19 million descendants at the end of 750 years”. This is an example of Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection which proposes that over time species undergo changes and acquire the ability to adapt in different conditions. He argued that all species overproduce and concluded that it was a driving force in natural selection. Charles Darwin was an English geologist, biologist, and naturalist. He is best known for his contributions to the study of the science of evolution.
Therefore, the correct answer is option C, i.e., Part of Darwin’s theory- overproduction
The African bush elephant, the Asian elephants, and the African forest elephant are the three currently recognized species of elephants. The largest of all elephant species is determined to be the African elephant weighing up to eight tons. The African savanna elephant species and the African forest elephant species are considered to be the two genetically different subspecies of the African elephants. Elephants are herbivorous in nature and are indigenous to Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. They inhabit marshes, desserts, savannah, and forests. They try to stay near water bodies as they live in humid climates and require to cool off more often.

Note: The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the African elephants as vulnerable and the Asian elephants as endangered. This is due to the illegal ivory trade as these innocent animals are poached for their ivory tusks. Other reasons responsible for their endangerment is the destruction of their habitat, exploitation for entertainment in zoos and circuses.