IN) Rare Kashmir deer makes a comeback

August 5, 2009

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Rare Kashmir deer makes comeback

REUTERS 4 August 2009, 07:20pm IST

DACHIGAM: An endangered species of red deer found only in Kashmir has made a

rapid comeback in the past year due to a decline in violence and conservation

efforts, wildlife officials said on Tuesday.

The population of the hangul, also known as the Kashmir stag, is now estimated

to be between 201 and 234, against 117-180 in March 2008, according to a census.

An anti-India insurgency that broke out two decades ago in the disputed

Himalayan region ruined the habitat of the red deer, killed for its meat by both

rebels and security forces. The deer were estimated to number around 900 when

fighting first erupted.

Wildlife guards say poachers also killed the deer for its meat and antlers,

which fetch high black market prices. Worst hit were its chief breeding ground

in the upper reaches of Dachigam Sanctuary near Srinagar, the summer capital of

Jammu and Kashmir.

" In the early 90s, Dachigam was a den of militants and later security forces

moved into areas where the hangul used to graze, making its life hell, " said

wildlife ranger Imtiyaz Ahmad Mali.

" We dared not move into these areas then. But now it is near peaceful and

poaching has also stopped. "

The census has also shown improvement in the female-fawn ratio, a sign for a

sustained population growth in future.

" The improvement in the situation resulted in effective implementation of

conservation plans and cooperation from environmentalists and the local

community, " Raashid Naqash, central Kashmir's wildlife warden, told Reuters.

Environmentalists have long accused the state government of neglecting the

region's environment and wildlife while battling the separatist revolt and say

the red deer's survival depends primarily on political will.

" We will not let the hangul go extinct, " Omar Abdullah, the state's chief

minister told reporters last month.

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