Select the alternative which best expresses the meaning of idioms/phrases. A white elephant
A useless possession which is extremely expensive to keep
An idiom carries a fixed figurative meaning, so 'a white elephant' should not be read by the literal sense of the two words.
Figuratively, the phrase names something you own that is more of a burden than a benefit: it is useless or troublesome yet very costly to keep or maintain.
The origin explains the sense: kings of Siam (Thailand) were said to gift a rare white elephant to a courtier they disliked; the animal was sacred, could not be worked or sold, and its upkeep ruined the owner.
So the defining features are 'no real use' plus 'expensive to maintain', which points straight to option 2.
'An extinct species' and 'an endangered species' take the elephant literally as an animal and ignore the figurative meaning.
'Someone belonging to a royal family' wrongly links the phrase to the royal gift-giver rather than to the costly, useless possession.
Hence the phrase means A useless possession which is extremely expensive to keep.
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