A. SEVERAL SENTENCES POINT THE BLAME AT GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS. THE F...

8. a. Several sentences point the blame at government officials. The first sentence states that the panther“is nearing extinction with the help of scientists and government officials.” The last sentence in thefirst paragraph reveals that officials opted for interbreeding because “pressure from developmentcaused [them] to grow impatient.” Finally, the third paragraph tells us that the interbreeding was “acompromise between the needs of development and a species’ survival.” Thus, the blame rests onofficials who bowed to pressure from developers. The author does not state that developers areencroaching upon protected areas (choice b), and although fingers are pointed at scientists in the firstsentence, nothing indicates that scientists suggested the solution (choice c). Choices dand eare incor-rect because the passage does not mention advocates of species preservation or suggests that agenciesdid not act quickly enough. Rather, the problem is that agencies wanted to act tooquickly.