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Abstract

Hangul being the state animal of Jammu and Kashmir was once found in a contiguity through Sindh and Iran, and converging with the Central Asian red deer populations, but today these deer dwell within a single 141 sq. km protected area, the Dachigam National Park, in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The species is at risk of extinction and also has been categorised in critically endangered ones in IUCN Redlist. Their number has declined dratically due many factors, like fuelwood and timber extraction, grass cutting, overgrazing, charcoal making, fishing and construction of cement factories and gulf course near its habitat, encroachment, poaching, population inbreeding and predation by leopard. Projects like Hangul project and Capitive greeding programme initiated by state authorties have not proven to be promising, so there is a need to develope an effective management programme and to organize awareness camps for conservation of Hangul.