Hangul
The Kashmir stag (Cervus hanglu hanglu ), also called hangul, is a subspecies of Central Asian red deer endemic to Kashmir and surrounding areas. It is found in dense riverine forests in the high valleys and mountains of Jammu and Kashmir and northern Himachal Pradesh. In Kashmir, it is found primarily in the Dachigam National Park where it receives protection, and elsewhere it is more at risk. In the 1941s, the population was between 3000 and 5000 individuals, but since then habitat destruction, over-grazing by domestic livestock and poaching have reduced population dramatically. Earlier believed to be a subspecies of red deer (Cervus elaphus ), a number of mitochondrial DNA genetic studies later had the hangul as a part of the Asian clade of the elk (Cervus canadensis ). The IUCN and American Society of Mammalogists, however, includes it in the new grouping of Central Asian red deer (Cervus hanglu ), with the Kashmir stag being the type subspecies (Cervus hanglu hanglu ). According to the census in 2019, there were only 237 hanguls.
This deer has a light rump patch without including the tail. Its coat color is brown with a speckling to the hairs. The inner sides of the buttocks are greyish white, followed by a line on the inner sides of the thighs and black on the upper side of the tail. Each antler consists of five tines. The beam is strongly curved inward, while the brow and bez tines are usually close together and above the burr.
This deer lives in groups of two to 18 individuals in dense riverine forests, high valleys, and mountains of the Kashmir valley and northern Chamba in Himachal Pradesh. In Kashmir, it's found in the Dachigam National Park (and its nearby areas at elevations of 3,035 meters), Rajparian Wildlife Sanctuary, Overa Aru, Sind Valley, and in the forests of Kishtwar & Bhaderwah.
