Directions: Five coherent statements are given below. Rearrange them into a logical sequence and answer the question that follows.

(A) In the post-war era, the state placed primary focus on industrial expansion across regional territories.

(B) A newly passed environmental bill aims to reintroduce forty gray wolves into the national sanctuary by importing them from Canada.

(C) Although uncontrolled poaching severely threatened the apex predator, the loss of contiguous woodland territory significantly accelerated its disappearance.

(D) The objective of this restoration program is to reinstate the historic ecological balance while establishing an interconnected metapopulation of wolves.

(E) This rapid industrial growth required extensive forest clearance, which directly eroded the wolf's natural hunting grounds.

Which of the following will be the third statement after the correct rearrangement?

The correct answer is option E.

To determine the logical sequence of the given statements, let us analyze their context and connections:

1. Statement (C) serves as the opening statement. It introduces the primary subject—the apex predator (gray wolf)—and notes that the loss of contiguous woodland territory accelerated its disappearance.
2. Statement (A) logically follows (C) by explaining the historical background of how woodland territory was lost due to post-war industrial expansion.
3. Statement (E) directly links to (A) using the phrase "This rapid industrial growth", clarifying how industrialization led to forest clearance and destroyed wolf hunting grounds.
4. Statement (B) introduces the present-day corrective action: a newly passed environmental bill aiming to reintroduce gray wolves.
5. Statement (D) concludes the passage by expanding on the goal of "this restoration program" introduced in (B).

The complete and coherent sequence is C - A - E - B - D.

Therefore, the third statement in the correct rearrangement is E.