RAS question
Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary is famous for:
Correct answer: (A) Elephants and the beautiful Periyar Lake.
Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary at Thekkady is famous for wild elephants and the scenic artificial Periyar Lake.
Explanation
Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary is located at Thekkady in Idukki district, Kerala, on the banks of Periyar Lake, an artificial lake. The official Kerala Tourism page presents the sanctuary as a landscape of Western Ghats forests and grasslands where herds of elephants roam, and also says it offers a rare chance to watch and photograph wild elephants at close quarters. This matches the MCQ's key clue: the sanctuary is not being identified by a single rare species, but by its best-known combination of elephants and the lake setting. Periyar is also known for wild elephants and tigers, and the artificial Periyar Lake, linked to the Mullaperiyar Dam, adds to its scenic value.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Rhinoceros is not the feature used by Kerala Tourism to identify Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary.
- (C) Lions are not listed by Kerala Tourism as Periyar's famous wildlife association.
- (D) Snow leopards do not fit the Periyar clue because the sanctuary is identified with elephants, tigers and the Periyar Lake setting instead.
Concept
This tests the Environment and Ecology mapping of protected areas to their flagship wildlife and landscape features. Such questions recur in RAS because sanctuaries, tiger reserves and their distinguishing species are standard prelims recall points.