Q.2572

In Oct 2017, the World Wildlife Fund for Nature in India announced that it had photographed this 'vulnerable' animal for the first time in Arunachal Pradesh. Which animal, whose scientific name is 'Panthera Uncia'?

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The Snow Leopard

Q.2089

In June 2016, a team of scientists announced that the mosaic-tailed rodent ('Bramble Cay melomys') was the first mammal to go extinct because of which reason?

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Climate Change, specfically because rising tides on the island where this animal was found have led to a loss of habitat. More here.

Q.2084

After a vote that saw a type of Stork and a type of Turtle lose, which Indian city picked the Gangetic River Dolphin as its "City Animal"? (This is the first time an Indian city has made such a choice.)

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Guwahati, Assam.

Q.2083

If the 2016 quest is for a Regal Blue Tang, what was the original 2003 quest for?

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A clownfish. (This refers to the films 'Finding Nemo' and its 2016 sequel 'Finding Dory'). More here.

Q.2060

This word means 'overgrown' in the Lugandan language (spoke in Uganda). Thus, it's an apt name for a forested region in that country.

By 2016, the word has become extremely well-known around the world. What word?

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'Zika'. The Zika Forest in Uganda is where the first signs of what is now called the Zika virus were spotted. More here.

Q.2048

Anthropologist and environmental conservationist Richard Leakey advised his country's President to take this headline-making step in July 1989. The same was repeated in May 2016 by the country's current President. Similar acts have been carried out in China, Mozambique, and the US.

What is this about?

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Kenya burned 100 tonnes of ivory worth millions of dollars in a spectacular event. More here.

Q.1883

Chinese scientists in third week of November 2015 unveiled their plan to develop which factory that would be the world’s largest of its kind?

It will be created to save critically endangered species from extinction and also would help China to keep up with the demand of the meat. The company behind the 200 million Yuan project is BoyaLife. It has partnered with South Korea’s Sooam Biotech owned by Hwang Woo-suk, whose team was the first in the world to perform this activity on an Afghan hound named Snuppy.

[+ Show Answer]

World's largest animal cloning factory

Cloning of animals for food exists. It is permitted in the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK). Though considered safe, but it still requires permission from regulatory authorities.

Q.1863

In November 2015, a new species of the _____ ant, was discovered by a group of citizen scientists in the Western Ghats region of Kerala. The ants’ first photographic record was obtained by Manoj Vembayam, Kalesh Sadasivan and Vinay Krishnan, members of the TNHS Ant Research Group. The species are known as ______ ants because they feed on their own larvae. At times of scarcity, the species punctures the body of their larvae to drink the hemolymph.

Name the species; something you can also connect with a Bram Stoker novel or a Sir Christopher Lee character.

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Dracula Ant

Earlier, three Dracula ant species had been discovered in Kolkata, Himachal Pradesh, and Karnataka. Also, ‘Count Dracula’ is the title character of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel ‘Dracula’ and was famously portrayed on screen by Sir Christopher Lee.

Q.1857

Shown is a sub-tropical evergreen plant. It shares its name with an Indian e-commerce portal. Sanjeev Mohanty on 30th October 2015 was appointed as CEO and MD of this brand. Praveen Sinha, the founder of the company, says:

We named ourselves after the thought of being evergreen and bright. The orange colour in our brand signifies our ability to be adventurous, creative and social.

Identify the plant/brand.

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Jabong

Mohanty managed three Italian fashion retail labels Benetton, Sisley and Undercolors in India, during his tenure as Managing Director of Benetton India Pvt Ltd.

Q.1847

The Svalbard Seed Vault (also dubbed the "Doomsday Vault") is located in the Arctic, where it holds seed samples of different types of crops from across the world.

In 2015, researchers from the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas requested a "bank withdrawal" for some seeds. This was because their research centre's gene bank at its headquarters was no longer available, due to a conflict.

If the HQ has now moved to Beirut in Lebanon, where was it previously housed - the largest city in a nearby country?

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Aleppo in Syria. More here.

This day last year: Q.

Q.1740

In June 2015, the state government of Maharashtra declared the Blue Mormon as the state butterfly of the state, the first such state symbol in India. The butterfly, whose scientific name is Papilio polymnestor, is related to the common Mormon, Papilio polytes.

Why are these called Mormons?

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Because the males of these butterflies were thought to practice polygamy; the Mormon church is famous for its polygamy.

This day last year: Q.1375

Q.1710

MERS initially called novel coronavirus was first reported in 2012 in Saudi Arabia.

It is also known as ____ flu, since _____ are believed to be involved in its spread to humans but it is unclear how. The WHO recommends that those who come in contact with _____ wash their hands frequently and do not touch sick _____.

Fill in the blanks

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Camel Flu

Middle East respiratory Syndrome claimed its first two victims in South Korea in the first week of June 2015 and many more have been infected.

Q.1689

Shown is the fish of Opah species. It was discovered on 15th May 2015. These fishes are found in deep waters off the US, Australia etc.
They are the world’s first species to have a certain peculiar feature. This exists because they have an internal system (similar to a car radiator) within their gills to conserve ___ and it flaps its fins to raise ____.

What is this uniqueness we’re talking about?

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World’s first fully warm blooded fish species
They can conserve the heat (endothermic) and this adaptation means the warm blood maintains body temperature of about 4-5 degree Celsius on an average.

Q.1633

‘The Nature Forever’ Society, started by Mohammed Dilawar who has won ‘Heroes of the Environment’, has come up with an International Initiative. On March 20, the World ______ day is observed. This is done in order to raise awareness about the ‘subjects’ and their diminishing population.

Fill in the blank which might also remind you of an epic Johnny Depp character.

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World Sparrow Day
The first World Sparrow Day was celebrated in 2010 and the first Sparrow Awards were given in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on 20 March 2011.

Q.1558

University of Southampton has initiated this one of a kind project. A team of scientists have planned to grow Lettuce on ____. The ingredients required for this would be transferred in 2018. The lettuce’s growth will be without any water or soil. Also, some nutrients will be sprayed on it regularly. Post the project, the heaters will be switched to full power, exterminating all life in it.
What’s the destination?

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Mars
The scientists led by Suzanna Lucarotti will demonstrate their project via a payload in the form of lettuce that will be carried by Mars One Lander in 2018.

Q.1476

Cyclone Hudhud devastated the coastal city of Vishakapatnam in India in October 2014. The word 'Hudhud' comes from the Koranic name of the Hoopoe bird.

This bird's scientific name is Upupa epops. What is common to the etymology of the order 'upupa' and the bird's name 'hoopoe'?

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These are derived onomatopoeically from the sound that this bird makes. More here, along with the distinctive sound.

This day last year: Q.1111

Q.1456

In Aug 2014, the designer Nachiket Barve unveiled a signature line of bedsheets for Bombay Dyeing. Called "Toxin", this was inspired, among others, by creatures such as jellyfish, poisonous frogs, etc.

One of the inspirations is a neurotoxin, also popular among the fashion-conscious for other reasons. What?

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"Botox", used also for cosmetic purposes.

This day last year: Q.1091

Q.1431

The first in this book series was published in 2013, and involved the call of a bird from the family of Cuculidae, usually considered crazy. The second, published in 2014, involved a different animal, this time the larva of the Bombyx mori insect.

What series and what is the second called?

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The second in the Cormoran Strike novels by Robert 'J.K.Rowling' Galbraith. The first was "The Cuckoo's Calling" and the second in 2014 was "The Silkworm".

This day last year: Q.1066

Q.1424

Europeans, especially Spanish explorers and colonialists, were thought to have brought this to the people of South America. However, a 2014 study published in the science journal 'Nature' claimed that this was already present in marine animals such as seals off the coast of modern-day Peru & Chile.

To do this, the researchers studied skeletons from that time period for scars, since lungs from these remains were obviously not available after such a long time. What is the subject of this study?

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The spread of tuberculosis to the 'New World'. More here.

This day last year: Q.1059

Q.1399

In 2014, this naturalist had yet another species named after him. A grasshopper, over 200 million years old, was found trapped in amber. The scientist leading the team that made the discovery named it after this person because he has an interest in amber and was also a personal hero to the scientist.

Who is this naturalist?

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Sir David Attenborough, the British broadcaster. More here.

This day last year: Q.1034