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Entry to Dachigam park suspended as Hangul rutting season begins

ByAshiq Hussain, Srinagar
Sep 27, 2023 10:56 PM IST

Hangul, the state animal of Jammu and Kashmir, once ruled the Kashmir valley but has become a critically endangered species with sightings mostly reported in Srinagar’s Dachigam National Park along with a few connecting pockets in south Kashmir like Tral Wildlife Sanctuary.

In order to let Kashmir’s unique royal stag, the Hangul, mate in peace, the authorities have suspended the entry of visitors into Dachigam National Park for three weeks.

In order to let Kashmir’s unique royal stag, the Hangul, mate in peace, the authorities have suspended the entry of visitors into Dachigam National Park for three weeks. (HT File Photo)
In order to let Kashmir’s unique royal stag, the Hangul, mate in peace, the authorities have suspended the entry of visitors into Dachigam National Park for three weeks. (HT File Photo)

Hangul, the state animal of Jammu and Kashmir, once ruled the Kashmir valley but has become a critically endangered species with sightings mostly reported in Srinagar’s Dachigam National Park along with a few connecting pockets in south Kashmir like Tral Wildlife Sanctuary.

Owing to the mating season of the red deer (Hangul), the wildlife department has suspended the entry of people into the park from September 25 to October 18

“In view of the beginning of the Hangul rutting season in Dachigam National Park, all online and offline entry permissions shall be stopped from September 25 to October 18, 2023,” the department of information and public relations said in a statement.

“Since this phase (rutting season) is very sensitive and important from the conservation point of view of Hangul, this step has been taken to avoid any disturbance to them,” it said.

The last viable population of Hangul (Cervus hanglu hanglu) in the Indian sub-continent exists only in the protected Dachigam National Park, a vast mountainous 141 sq km sanctuary on the outskirts of Srinagar, where Hangul grazed in hordes before the start of militancy in 1989. Lately, there were sightings in connected areas outside the park in south Kashmir like in Tral.

The latest Census by the wildlife department has revealed that the animal has again shown a marginal increase in its population owing to the conservation efforts, much to the delight of wildlife experts and Hangul lovers across the region.

The latest biennial census, which was conducted in April this year and was made public recently, revealed that the population of the animal has increased to 289 individuals from 261 in 2021, a 10 percent increase.

The report pointed out factors like habitat fragmentation and poaching, livestock grazing, predation, ecological threats and disturbed corridors, and landscapes as the reasons for the population remaining under constant stress.

Wildlife Research Officer Samina Amin Charoo said that the department intends a disturbance-free mating season for Hangul every year.

“This is rutting time which means they go for reproduction. During rutting, males make huge sounds to attract females for mating. Because it is a very shy animal and there are pressures on its population, so when a female gets disturbed during this cycle, it is detrimental to the population of the animal,” Charoo said.

She said that in every Census they observe that there are a smaller number of fawns (fawn to female ratio) and one of the factors may be the disturbance during the rutting season.

“For Hangul this season is very specific, and they do mate at very few locations. To avoid disturbances in those particular areas the department takes this measure to avoid any issues later in the increase in population,” she said.

Poached for its meat, antlers and skin, the deer’s population dropped below 200 in the early 1990s from 800-900 in 1988 after insurgency paralysed the state administration. It had a thriving population of 3,000-5,000 in the 1900s.

The major reason for the pressure on its population was the fragmentation of its natural habitat which extended to a large landscape, including Dachigam, Tral, Ganderbal and Tulail, extending to four Kashmir districts.

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