Ethics / Environment · 4 Aug 2026

Asiatic wild buffalo Schedule I

Consider the following pairs relating to the Asiatic wild buffalo: Item - Correct Description 1. IUCN Red List status - Endangered 2. Legal protection - Listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, the highest level of legal protection available 3. Global population share - India holds over 90 percent of the world's wild water buffalo population, most of it in Assam 4. State animal status - Declared the state animal of Assam, the state hosting most of its population How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

AOnly one pair
BOnly two pairs
COnly three pairs
DAll four pairs
About this question

Why in news

Chhattisgarh is translocating wild buffaloes from Assam into guarded enclosures after its own genetically pure population fell to just 12-16 animals.

Why for UPSC

This tests a precisely stated but easily confused fact - the buffalo's state-animal designation belongs to Chhattisgarh, not to Assam where the population is concentrated - a distinction UPSC often exploits in species-related questions.

Prelims summary

The Asiatic wild buffalo is IUCN Endangered, has Schedule I protection under the WPA 1972 and India (mostly Assam) holds over 90% of the global wild population - but it is Chhattisgarh's state animal, not Assam's.

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