LSAT 5 | Section 3 | Logical Reasoning: Q21

LR Question 21 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Naturalist: For decades we have known that the tuatara…

QUESTION TYPE: Principle

CONCLUSION: Humans must try to prevent the extinction of the South Island Tuatara (even if it means killing the Tuatara’s natural predators which are not endangered)

REASONING: It is now known that the South Island Tuatara is an independent species distinct from the North Island Tuatara. If it goes extinct on the South Island it will be extinct worldwide.

ANALYSIS: It’s hard to evaluate this argument. We don’t know how important it is to prevent a species becoming extinct, and whether it matters that we will have to kill animals. We will just need to look for some principle that supports the idea that we ought to protect animals from extinction.

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1. This principle would have supported preserving the South Island Tuatara back when it was thought to merely be a local population of the larger New Zealand Tuatara species. The present conclusion is a bit different: we only need to preserve it since it is not merely a local population but instead the entire population of Tuataras.
2. This doesn’t help, since we are interfering with the well being of other animals. We would have to kill the predators of the Tuatara.
3. CORRECT. This works. When we thought the South Island Tuatara were just a local population of a larger species we had no obligation to save them. Now that they are the only population of a distinct species we must save them.
4. We don’t know if it is human activity that is killing the Tuatara.
5. This goes too far. If the South Island Tuatara weren’t going extinct it’s not clear we should favor them. This answer choice doesn’t specify that the isolated species has to be at any actual risk of extinction: they are simply more vulnerable by reason of being isolated.

Recap: The question begins with “Naturalist: For decades we have known that the tuatara”. It is a Principle question. Learn how to master LSAT Principle questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.