Read the passage and answer the questions given below it.
From the window of a bus on the road to Jaisalmer, the Thar can look empty: scrub, sand, a few goats, and rows of tall pylons running to the horizon. This open land is the main home of the Great Indian Bustard, one of the heaviest flying birds. Perhaps 150 are left in the wild, and most of them live here.
The bird’s trouble lies partly in its build. Its eyes are set on the sides of its head, so it sees poorly straight ahead, and a body that heavy cannot swerve in a hurry. Flying low over the scrub, it often notices a wire too late. Scientists count these crashes into power lines among the main reasons the bird is dying out.
In 2021 the Supreme Court ordered that power lines in the bird’s key areas be laid underground where possible, and fitted with bright bird diverters elsewhere. Energy companies objected, and their case was not a weak one. The same desert is among India’s best sites for solar and wind farms, and burying high-voltage lines over long distances is costly and sometimes not practical. The court later changed its order and asked experts to decide where burying was truly needed.
Wildlife officials collect eggs from the wild and hatch them at breeding centres near Jaisalmer. A female usually lays a single egg, so each chick matters. The programme is meant to buy time. But a chick raised in a centre must one day be let out into the same sky. And the wires are still going up.
Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about the Great Indian Bustard?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Its numbers cannot rise quickly, since each female adds few young.
The last paragraph says that “a female usually lays a single egg”.
- One egg at a time means very few new birds are added each year.
- That is why the writer says “each chick matters”. A bird that breeds this slowly cannot make up its numbers fast.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: It is found nowhere in India outside the Thar. — Incorrect. Contradicted: The passage says “most of them live here”. Most is not all, so a few live elsewhere.
Option 2: It runs into wires mainly when it flies high above the desert. — Incorrect. Contradicted: The passage says it hits wires while “flying low over the scrub”.
Option 4: It is dying out mainly because it cannot find enough food in the scrub. — Incorrect. Not mentioned: The passage says nothing about food. The main danger it names is the power lines.