(a) Fishing cat

(b) Orangutan

(c) Otter

(d) Sloth bear

9. Ans: b

Explanation:

About Orangutans: 

• The name orangutan means “man of the forest” in the Malay language. In the lowland forests in which they reside, orangutans live solitary existences. 
• They feast on wild fruits like lychees, mangosteens, and figs, and slurp water from holes in trees. They make nests in trees of vegetation to sleep at night and rest during the day.
• Orangutans have been observed in the wild using simple tools like sticks to collect insects and leaves to shield them from the elements. They are renowned for having the ability to use tools, a unique trait among non-human animals. 
• Orangutans can make two separate sounds at the same time, just like songbirds and human beatboxers. 
• There are three species of orangutan – the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli – which differ a little in appearance and behavior. The Bornean and Sumatran species have shaggy reddish fur, Sumatran orangutans have longer facial hair.
• All three orangutan species are considered critically endangered.
• Orangutans are the world’s largest tree-climbing mammals. 
• Orangutans are known as gardeners of the forest. They play a vital role in seed dispersal and in maintaining the health of the forest ecosystem, which is important for people and a host of other animals, including tigers, Asian elephants and Sumatran rhinos. 
• Orangutans are found only in the rain forests of the Southeast Asian islands of Borneo and Sumatra. They spend nearly their entire lives in trees—swinging in tree tops and building nests for sleep.
• Fruit makes up about 60% of the orangutan’s diet, including lychees, mangosteens, mangoes, and figs. They also eat young leaves and shoots, insects, soil, tree bark, and occasionally eggs and small vertebrates

About Sloth Bear:

• India has four species of bears : Asiatic Black, Sloth, Sun and Himalayan Brown Bear. Bear belong to the order of Carnivora. They are omnivorous animals who have a varied diet ranging from meat to fruit and are also known to scavenge on dead animals. 
• All Indian Bear species are listed under Appendix I in CITES and Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. This provides complete protection to the species from hunting and trade.
• The Asiatic Black Bear is classed by the IUCN as a vulnerable species. 
• The Sun Bear is mostly distributed in South-East Asia. In India it occurs in the North-eastern region, though it is not common. It is the smallest of the eight bear species found across the globe. IUCN lists the Sun Bear as Vulnerable.
• The Sloth Bear is endemic to the Indian subcontinent and occurs in India, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. The Sloth Bear is unique among the bear species in being adapted to ‘myrmecophagy’, i.e to eating ants and termites, which form a large proportion of its diet. This bear species is killed for their gall bladder.
• IUCN lists the Sloth Bear as Vulnerable.
• Himalayan brown bear is “critically endangered”.

About Fishing Cats:

• About twice the size of a typical house cat, the fishing cat is a feline with a powerful build and stocky legs. It is an adept swimmer and enters water frequently to prey on fish as its name suggests. It is known to even dive to catch fish.
• Wetlands are the favorite habitats of the fishing cat. In India, fishing cats are mainly found in the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, on the foothills of the Himalayas along the Ganga and Brahmaputra river valleys and in the Western Ghats.
• The fishing cat is nocturnal and apart from fish also preys on frogs, crustaceans, snakes, birds, and scavenges on carcasses of larger animals.
• The fishing cat is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, which means that it faces a high threat of extinction in the wild. 
• The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) lists the fishing cat on Appendix II part of Article IV of CITES, which governs international trade in this species. 
• In India, the fishing cat is included in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and thereby protected from hunting. 

About Otters:

• Otters are members of the mammalian family called Mustelidae. They are shy and have elusive habits, adapting to a variety of habitats ranging from marine to freshwater environments. 
• Otters are invariably associated with water, with a few exceptions. 
• African clawless Otter found in Central Equatorial Africa, are least adapted aquatically.
• Otters are mainly active around dawn and dusk, being, what is known as, crepuscular.
• Otters are found the world over, except in Australia, New Zealand, Madagascar, and other oceanic islands. 
• India is home to 3 of the 13 species of otters found worldwide. 
• These are – Eurasian Otter; Smooth-coated Otter and Small-clawed otter. The Small-clawed Otter (Aonyx cinereus) is the smallest.
• Fish forms the primary food item, although their diet is supplemented with rodents, snakes, amphibians, small mammals, and even young fledgling birds.
• Otters, as high-order carnivores at the top of their small niche eco-systems, metabolise poison slowly, storing it in their fatty tissues until they need to draw on these energy reserves. There is no evidence that chemical poisons kill otters.
• Sea Otters often keep their favorite rock with them, using it to smash open the hard shell of a clam or mussel that pried out of the waters, and they’ll do it all while still floating on their backs. 
• In India, the nomadic hunting tribes such as Gilhara, Badiya and Jogis are known to regularly kill otters for their skin and flesh.

Read: Previous Year UPSC Environment Questions (PYQs) With Explanation 2023