Caring for critically endangered Hangul!
It was heartening to see humans brainstorm for saving the critically endangered Hangul or red deer in its last bastions in Kashmir! It is better late than never; people have started to realise the importance of wild animals to maintain ecological balance.
The concern shown for Hangul by experts and people from different walks of life in the recent International Conference on Hangul and Other Threatened Ungulates (2IHUC-25) organised by the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-Kashmir is timely. The conference stressed means for critical conservation needs of the Critically Endangered Hangul, its close relatives, such as Red deer, the Bukhara/Bactrian deer and the Yarkand/Tarim deer, besides other threatened ungulates worldwide.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who was chief guest on the event, minced no words to rue loss of Hangul population. Omar, who is a nature lover, was vocal for saving the remaining population of Hangul.
Omar couldn’t hide his emotions when he rued that “despite living close to Dachigam National Park, he had never seen a Hangul with a naked eye.”
“I don’t want a situation where our children and grandchildren know these species only through photographs in books, like the dodo or woolly mammoth. That would be a tragedy we must not allow,” Omar said. That’s the point! People of Jammu and Kashmir need to share Omar’s concern.
Famed for its magnificent antlers with 11 to 16 points, Hangul was once widely distributed in mountains. Hangul’s catchments have been extremely disturbed in last three decades. Once Hangul thrived in forests but witnessed a decline in its population. Kashmir’s ‘shikar map’ prepared by Maharaja Hari Singh depicts distribution of Hangul spreading from Keran in Kishenganga catchments over to Dorus in Lolab Valley, catchments in Bandipora, Tulail, Baltal, Aru, Tral, and Kishtwar.
The Hangul population gradually declined to about 1000-2000 in 1947 and subsequently to 289 at present.
Due to destruction of its habitat, the Hangul is surviving in its last bastion, the Dachigam National Park and few of its adjoining areas. There is 800 sq-km of Hangul habitat spanning Dachigam, Brein, Nishat, Dara, Khimber, Khrew, Khanmoh, Tral, Shikargah, Khiram, Sindh and Akhal. Hangul is a critically-endangered species as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of IUCN, Red List Data, a Schedule I Species in Indian Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
What led to the decline in Hangul population? There are natural and man-made reasons. Due to increasing human interference in Hangul’s movement has been hindered. Another challenge for Hangul is the increasing population of wild boars in Dachigam National Park which is severely affecting its movement and habitat.
Importantly, satellite collaring studies have revealed that Hangul is not using summer habitats due to anthropogenic pressure owing to livestock grazing in Kashmir’s upper reaches. This has been revealed by landmark study by SKUAST-K and Department of Wildlife Protection to study movement patterns of Hangul using Global Positioning System (GPS) and Satellite Telemetry. The study traced Hangul movement ecology, seasonal Hangul home ranges, movement patterns, and migration and in identifying and validating important stop-over sites of migration, movement corridors, and barriers to migration of Hangul outside Dachigam National Park. The capture and collaring of five individual Hanguls yielded significant results.
The findings of this comprehensive research in last four years has tracked movement of Hangul from Dachigam National Park towards Hangul relic areas of Wangath-Naranag corridor in the north and Tral and Shikargah corridor in the south through the identified corridors in Sindh Forest Division in north and areas of Tral Reserve forest in south. It reveals that despite availability of ideal summer habitats for the Hangul in upper Dachigam, these alpine meadow habitats were not being explored or used by Hangul possibly due to the anthropogenic pressure owing to livestock grazing.
Experts have been stressing for scientific measures to increase the population of Hangul. Dr Khursheed Ahmad, Head of the Wildlife Sciences Division at SKUAST-K says that survival of Hangul relies on restoring corridors between Dachigam and Tral, augmenting existing populations, and protecting isolated herds.”
During the conference, Swiss expert Dr. Claude Fischer cited an example of Europe’s near-extinct Badesia species, and recommended the same model for Hangul conservation.. Another expert Dr Susana Gonzalez maintained that science and decisive action can make Hangul a global conservation model.
Hangul Conservation Breeding Centre was established at Shikargah in Tral area of south Kashmir in 2011 but has been facing hiccups.due to lack of manpower and infrastructure. The centre must run under the guidance of global wildlife conservation experts. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah rightly pointed out that conservation projects cannot be allowed to gather dust in files “These species are not going to wait for the government file to move from department to department. There has to be a sense of urgency.”
There is a need to restore and secure the corridors of Hangul. If Government is serious, it must not allow any disturbances in Hangul corridors, especially the stag’s historical habitats in Overa and Aru.
It is the duty of the Government and people to protect the habitat of Hangul which is the Union Territory Animal of Jammu and Kashmir. Sustainability of a good population of Hangul is an indicator of a healthy ecosystem. We must take a pledge to protect Hangul, which is our pride.
Author is Executive Editor,
Greater Kashmir.
