Pragnya IAS · Chapter 12 of 15 · Wetlands, hotspots & coasts
Rare and flagship species of India map
Pair each rare species with its stronghold — snow leopard with Hemis, hangul with Dachigam, sangai with Keibul Lamjao — the pairing UPSC actually tests.
STUDY NOTE 1
High-mountain specialists
The snow leopard ranges across Hemis and the trans-Himalayan parks; the red panda holds on in Singalila and the eastern Himalayan forests; the hangul (Kashmir stag) survives only in and around Dachigam.
STUDY NOTE 2
Grassland and wetland icons
The Great Indian Bustard’s last stronghold is the Thar around Desert National Park. The sangai dances only on Loktak’s phumdis at Keibul Lamjao; the one-horned rhino centres on Kaziranga.
STUDY NOTE 3
Forest endemics
The lion-tailed macaque is a Western Ghats endemic of Silent Valley and the Anamalai hills. The golden langur is tied to Manas and the Bhutan border forests; the hoolock gibbon, India’s only ape, swings through the northeast.
STUDY NOTE 4
Why pairings matter
Prelims rarely asks “where is X found” alone — it asks which pairing is correct. Build the map as species-to-place pairs and the elimination method starts working for you.
Map reading activity
Make a two-column table of eight species and their strongholds from memory. Mark each stronghold on an outline map.
What does this rare & flagship species strongholds lesson explain?
The snow leopard ranges across Hemis and the trans-Himalayan parks; the red panda holds on in Singalila and the eastern Himalayan forests; the hangul (Kashmir stag) survives only in and around Dachigam.
UPSC map practice & Geography Optional connection
For UPSC Prelims environment questions and GS III, pair each protected area or convention site with its state, ecosystem and flagship species. Use a labelled sketch to show distribution; lists and counts change, so note the update date rather than memorising a frozen tally. These are Pragnya-authored exercises, not official UPSC previous-year questions.
References & original artwork
This lesson covers chapter 12 of the supplied reference curriculum. Pragnya IAS notes, activities and questions are independently authored; source PDF pages, branding, personal watermarks and unverified PYQs are not republished. India state geometry: geoBoundaries (CC BY 2.5 IN), simplified. These are educational concept views, not legal boundaries or official protected-area maps.