Uptick in hangul population

Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, January 24

Efforts to save the hangul from extinction seem to have yielded encouraging results as the population of the endangered species of the red deer is showing an increasing trend in the latest census conducted by the Wildlife Department.

In a written reply, Forest Minister Lal Singh on Saturday said as per the latest census conducted in March 2017, the hangul number at Dachigam National Park stood at 182.

Known as Kashmiri red stag or hangul, it has been declared a “critical endangered species” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Although the minister mentioned the population of the hangul at 182 (plus-minus 39), officers involved in conducting the census confirmed an increasing trend in the number.

“Last time, the census was conducted in March 2015. After proper analysis, it was found that the estimated population of the world-famous deer was not more than 164,” Imtiyaz Ahmed Lone, Chief Wildlife Warden, Central Kashmir, told The Tribune.

“This time we have witnessed an encouraging trend as a good number of fawns were counted during the latest census which is an indicator that the population of the endangered species is rising,” said Lone.