Consider the following pairs:

Wildlife	Naturally found in
1. Blue-finned Mahseer	Cauvery River
2. Irrawaddy Dolphin	Chambal River
3. Rusty-spotted Cat	Eastern Ghats

Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

The correct option is 1 and 3 only.

Let us analyze each of the given pairs to determine which are correctly matched:

1. Blue-finned Mahseer — Cauvery River (Correct):
The Blue-finned Mahseer (Tor remadevii / Tor khudree) is naturally found in the freshwater habitats of the South Indian rivers, particularly the Cauvery (Kaveri) River basin.

2. Irrawaddy Dolphin — Chambal River (Incorrect):
The Irrawaddy Dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) is a euryhaline species of oceanic dolphin found in coastal areas, estuaries, and rivers in parts of the Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia. In India, it is primarily found in Chilika Lake in Odisha and coastal waters, not in the inland Chambal River. The Chambal River is famous for the Gangetic Dolphin (Ganges River Dolphin) and Gharials.

3. Rusty-spotted Cat — Eastern Ghats (Correct):
The Rusty-spotted Cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus) is one of the smallest wild cat species in the world. It is endemic to India and Sri Lanka and is naturally found in dry deciduous forests, scrub forests, and rocky areas of South India and Gujarat, including the Eastern Ghats.

Therefore, pairs 1 and 3 are correctly matched, while pair 2 is incorrectly matched.