With reference to Indian elephants, consider the following statements :
- 1.The leader of an elephant group is a female.
- 2.The maximum gestation period can be 22 months.
- 3.An elephant can normally go on calving till the age of 40 years only.
- 4.Among the States in India, the highest elephant population is in Kerala.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
Show answer
Answer: A. Statement 1 is correct: an elephant herd is led by the oldest female (matriarch). Statement 2 is correct: gestation is about 18 to 22 months, the longest of any mammal. Statement 3 is wrong: female elephants can calve until about 55-60 years. Statement 4 is wrong: Karnataka has the highest elephant population, not Kerala. So 1 and 2.
Watch for: Kerala is famous for temple elephants, so students assume it has the most wild elephants.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. Wrong because Karnataka, not Kerala, has the most elephants.
- C. Wrong because elephants calve beyond 40 years.
- D. Wrong because statements 3 and 4 are false.
Source to check: MoEFCC Synchronized Elephant Population Estimation 2017 (Project Elephant)
Answer from the official UPSC key. Written and fact-checked by AI against the official key. Spotted a mistake? Report it.