Consider the following animals: ​ 1. Hedgehog ​ 2. Marmot ​ 3. Pangolin ​ To reduce the chance of being captured by predators, which of the above organisms rolls up/roll up and protects/protect its/their vulnerable parts? ​

The correct answer is D. Hedgehogs and pangolins both use the rolling defence, while marmots do not.

• Hedgehog (1): When threatened, it tucks its head and limbs in and curls into a ball, so the spines face outward and the soft underside is hidden.
• Pangolin (3): It curls tightly into a ball, and its overlapping keratin scales cover the face, limbs and belly. The scales are made of keratin, not bone, a distinction examiners sometimes test.
• Marmot (2): Marmots are burrowing rodents of the squirrel family. Their defence is to whistle a warning to the colony and dive into burrows, not to roll up.

The core concept is anti-predator adaptation, a standard topic under animal adaptations in Environment and Ecology. For Mains, the pangolin is a useful example in wildlife trade discussions: all eight pangolin species are listed in CITES Appendix I, and the Indian species are in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Trap: Aspirants pick A or B by assuming that any burrowing or small mammal with a defensive trait, like the marmot, also rolls up.