Which one of the following protected areas is well-known for the conservation of a sub-species of the Indian swamp deer (Barasingha) that thrives well on hard ground and is exclusively graminivorous?
Explanation
Option A is correct: Kanha National Park (Kanha Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh) is world-renowned for its dedicated conservation recovery of the endangered hard-ground swamp deer or Barasingha (*Rucervus duvaucelii branderi*):
– Unlike other swamp deer sub-species in the wetlands of Kaziranga and Dudhwa that inhabit moist marshes, the central Indian sub-species has adapted hard hooves suited to dry grassland plateaus.
– It is strictly graminivorous (feeding almost exclusively on grasses) and was rescued from the verge of extinction in the 1970s through fencing, predator control, and habitat management in Kanha.
– The Barasingha serves as the official mascot of Kanha Tiger Reserve (Bhoorsingh the Barasingha).
Therefore, the protected area is Kanha National Park — Option A.