Question

Which of the following is protected under wildlife (protection) act, 1972?
A) Porcupine
B) Gerbil
C) Bandicoot rat
D) Squirrel

Answer 1

Hint:In order to ensure environmental and ecological stability, this Act provides for the conservation of the country's wild animals, birds, and plant species. The Act lays down, among other items, prohibitions on killing certain species of animals. In the year 2006, the Act was last updated. In the Rajya Sabha, an amendment bill was introduced in 2013 and referred to a Standing Committee, but was withdrawn in 2015.

Complete answer:
Option A) Porcupine The Indian crested porcupine is protected by the Indian Schedule IV of 1972, revised until 2002, of the Indian Wildlife Conservation Act. Nonetheless, it is commonly hunted because it is destructive to gardens and agricultural crops. For consumption and medicinal use, it is traded.
Option B) Gerbil is not the correct answer. In the order Rodentia, a gerbil is a small mammal of the subfamily Gerbillinae. Once known as desert rats, some 110 species of African, Indian, and Asian rodents, including sand rats and jirds, are included in the gerbil subfamily, all adapted to arid habitats.
Option C) Bandicoot rats is the incorrect answer. Bandicoot mouse, which is one of five Asian rodent species closely associated with human populations. The largest, weighing 0.5 to 1 kg, is the largest bandicoot rat.
Option D) Squirrel is the incorrect answer. Squirrels are members of the Sciuridae family, a family that includes rodents of small or medium size. Tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots (including groundhogs), flying squirrels, and prairie dogs are part of the squirrel family, among other rodents.

Hence the correct answer is option A.

Note:The Indian crested porcupine is nocturnal, like other Old World porcupines. Every night, both adults and weaned juveniles spend an average of 7 hours foraging.
There is a very broad and mostly herbivorous diet of Indian crested porcupines. In addition to insects and small vertebrates, they consume a range of natural and agricultural plant materials, including roots, bulbs, fruits, grains, drupes and tubers.