Critical Reasoning

Environmentalist: It is true that the tiny population of grey wolves
in the southern part of the country have much in common with the
larger population in the north. Based on these similarities,
government o¢ cials are claiming that the distinct population in the
south is not endangered. The claim is mistaken. The wolf
population in the south has no contact, and is incapable of
breeding with the population in the north, so it should be
considered a distinct species, and thus an endangered one.
Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest support for
the environmentalistÂ’s claim?
(A) Historical data suggests that the wolf population in the
south descends from a separate population that lived
in the north less than a century ago.
(B) The two wolf populations have genetic di¤erences that
are more substantial than the di¤erences that cause
two populations of red wolves to be categorized as
distinct species.
(C) There are currently no wolf species categorized by the
government as endangered.
(D) The environmentalist previously worked for the
government in a capacity that allowed him to help
classify certain species as endangered.
(E) There are large numbers of grey wolves in captivity
throughout the country.

Confuse with B

What this passage is saying here is that

the author agrees that there are similarities between the grey wolf of the north and south
The government concludes that because they are similar one can not be endangered while the other is ok
The author disagrees and states that the two should be considered distinct species.

So what the question is asking you is how to make the authors position stronger that the two should be considered distinct.

B is the only one that does that. B gives you added information that the north and south grey wolf have genetic differences. It also tells you that there is a population of red wolves that are categorized as distinct species and they are categorized that way due to genetic differences. The grey wolfs differences are more substantial than those of the red. If that is the case than the grey wolf should also be classified as distinct.

hey gasg whats the source ?