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Prelims 2021 · Q23 · Species & IUCN status

Consider the following animals :

  1. 1.Hedgehog
  2. 2.Marmot
  3. 3.Pangolin

To reduce the chance of being captured by predators, which of the above organisms rolls up/roll up and protects/protect its/their vulnerable parts?

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Answer: D. Hedgehogs roll into a spiny ball, and pangolins roll into a ball covered by hard scales to protect their soft belly. Marmots do not roll up; they escape into burrows. So 1 and 3.

Watch for: Marmots are small burrowing animals, which makes them seem similar, but they do not curl up.

Why the other options are wrong
  • A. Wrong because marmots hide in burrows rather than rolling up.
  • B. Wrong because marmots do not roll up.
  • C. Wrong because hedgehogs also roll up.

Source to check: Zoological Survey of India / WWF-India species profiles (Indian pangolin); IUCN Red List species accounts

Answer from the official UPSC key. Written and fact-checked by AI against the official key. Spotted a mistake? Report it.