Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: The statement is incorrect; wild animals are treated as an important natural resource.
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
In environmental science and resource management, the term natural resource includes all living and non living parts of nature that humans can use or benefit from. Wild animals are a crucial part of ecosystems and provide ecological, economic, cultural and scientific value. This question tests whether you understand that wild animals are indeed considered a natural resource and not outside the resource concept.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
Natural resources include renewable resources such as forests, wildlife, water and soil, as well as non renewable resources like minerals and fossil fuels. Wild animals, or wildlife, are a classic example of renewable biological resources when they are managed sustainably. They contribute to biodiversity, pollination, pest control and tourism, and they form part of the food chain and nutrient cycles. Therefore, the statement that wild animals are not considered a natural resource directly contradicts standard definitions in environmental science and is incorrect.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that natural resources include components of nature that humans can use or from which humans benefit.
Step 2: Recognise that wild animals, from insects and birds to mammals, provide ecological services and have economic and cultural importance.
Step 3: Note that many conservation laws and wildlife protection acts explicitly classify wildlife as a valuable natural resource that must be managed and protected.
Step 4: Compare this understanding with the given statement that wild animals are not a natural resource.
Step 5: Conclude that the statement is incorrect and that the correct option must say that wild animals are treated as an important natural resource.
Verification / Alternative check:
You can verify this by thinking of how wildlife departments and conservation organisations work. Governments create wildlife sanctuaries, national parks and biosphere reserves to conserve wild animal populations, because they are considered a national natural resource. They also monitor hunting, trade and habitat damage as part of sustainable resource management. The presence of such institutions and policies clearly shows that wild animals are treated as a resource that needs wise use and protection, not as something outside the resource category.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A claims that wild animals are not any kind of natural resource, which is the opposite of accepted environmental science.
Option C suggests that only domesticated animals are resources, ignoring the recognized value of wildlife in natural ecosystems.
Option D limits resource status to zoo animals, which is incorrect because conservation policies focus on free living wildlife populations.
Option E incorrectly introduces a difference between developed and developing countries; the definition of natural resource is based on ecology, not on economic status of a nation.
Common Pitfalls:
Learners sometimes associate natural resources only with materials that can be harvested directly for profit, such as timber or minerals, and forget about ecological services and biodiversity value. Another mistake is to think that only cultivated or domesticated species count as resources. To avoid these errors, always remember that natural resources include both living and non living elements of nature that provide benefits, and that wild animals are a central part of this group.
Final Answer:
The statement is wrong. In environmental science, wild animals are considered an important renewable natural resource, so the correct choice is The statement is incorrect; wild animals are treated as an important natural resource.
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