Kashmir Stag

Kashmir Stag is commonly known as hangul. It is largely found in Jammu and Kashmir in India.

Kashmir Stag is the State Animal of Jammu and Kashmir.

They are the sub species of Red Deer. This species with the zoological name Cervus elanphus hanglu falls under the genus Cervus. The classification is as below,

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Mammalia
Order	Artiodactyla
Suborder	Ruminantia
Family	Cervidae
Subfamily	Cervinae
Genus	Cervus
Species	Cervus elanphus
Subspecies	Cervus elanphus hanglu

Physical Structure

The Kashmir Stag is a very handsome member of the red deer species. Kashmir Stag has a long head with a narrow muzzle. Its head and body length measures about 2130 to 2286 mm. Male deer weighs about 200-300 kilograms. Female deer weighs about 100-150 kilograms. Hangul can grow up to 120-140centimeters in height. Sides and limbs are paler. Belly in males are dark brown in color.


In summer, their fur looks brighter rather than during other seasons. Tail is relatively short in size. It is surrounded by whitish caudal disk and contrasting with dark brown that merges into the body. In males, hairs on the ridge of the neck are long, thick and bushy. The hair at the lower neck is long and shaggy with varying colors like brown or brownish ash or dark liver. Belly in males are dark brown in color. In adults each horn has five points, sometimes more.

In India it is endemic and mostly found are limited to the the Dachigam Sanctuary in Jammu and Kashmir,

with some scattered population in other parts of the State and in Gamagal Sanctuary of Himachal Pradesh. The Hangul prefers to live in dense riverside forests between 1750 and 3650 meters of high valleys, and also in the mountain areas. Dachigam National Park is the largest reserve place for Hangul. During March and April it starts moving to the upper reaches and remains there between 2500 to 3000 meters. Only by summer it starts moving towards the lower valley.

Places Found

Dachigam National Park: Dachigam National park is one of the famous parks in Jammu & Kashmir. It is located 22 kilometers from Srinagar. It has a total area of about 141 square kilometers. It was declared as a national park in the year 1981. The Dachigam National Park is located at varying altitude of 1700m to 4300 m above the sea level. This park is located among the high mountains of the Himalayas. Altitude ranges from 5500 feet to 14000 feet.

Dachigam National park is famous for the Hangul or the Kashmir Stag. The other species found in this park are: Leopard, Jackal, Hill fox, Musk deer. Many birds like Woodpecker, Minuet, and Cinnamon Sparrow are also found in this park.

Food habits

It is a den dwelling animal and having a browsing tendency. Generally in natural habitat, it feeds on flowers, leaves, and tender shoots of shrubs. They also feed on Lichens, Mosses, Ferns, Mushrooms and other members of Ascomycetes.

Mating behaviour

By October, most of Dachigam's Hangul are concentrated in the lower valley and the stags would have joined the hinds. This is when the rutting season commences, and the valleys of Lower Dachigam reverberate with the resonant call of the stags. Unlike the Red deer of Scotland, Hangul do not round up a large harem of hinds. At the onset of the rut, fights erupt between rival stags to settle their hierarchy. A stag will pursue a receptive female through the forest and uphill slopes till mating takes place.

The gestation period is 7-8 months and the fawns, are dropped in the side nallahs of the lower valley in late May and June.

After dropping their fawns, the hinds too leave the lowest part of the valley and move to the upper slopes where the best and most nutritious pastures are available, and will use these areas for raising their young till the weather turns harsh, forcing them down again. The average life span is 10 to 13 years.

Population and Statistics

During 1940's population of the hangul was believed to be about 3500-5500. These were numbered more than about 5000 in the 20th century. Due to many threats it was drastically reduced into just 150 by 1970. Along with the IUCN and WWF many steps were taken to improve their population and by 1970 it just increased to about 340 in Jammu & Kashmir.

In 2006, hangul sex ratio was 21 males per 100 females; however, fawn female ratio seems to be an important concern, as it shows a significant decline from 23 to 9 fawns per 100 females. Due to efforts of government and department of wildlife protection the population gradually increased in the 2009 census report. (27males/100females and 28 fawns/100females).

Threats to Kashmir Stag

1. Grazing: Grazing continues to a limiting factor preventing hangul from full exploitation of its habitat. The alpine meadows during summer months are occupied by large herds of herbivores. Because of these disturbances, the deer no longer migrate to other areas.
2. Fuelwood and timber extraction: Vast forest areas are now being razed down for fuelwood and timber extraction. This limits the available food for the Kakshmir stag during the harsh winter times.
3. Grass Cutting: The locals tend to cut much grass for their doemstic animals at the cost of the food of the Kashmir stag.

4. Predation: Predation is natural phenomenon and it is seen almost in all animals.

But when conservation is the ultimate goal, predation too is adverse. Four large predators could be considered as the major threat for Hangul population i.e. brown bear, snow leopard, leopard and Himalayan black bear. But leopard has been the major predator which has caused maximum decline in its population.

5. Climate change: Due to high population explosion and heavy pressure of tourists visiting the valley, the Dachigam National Park itself has caused a significant decline in hangul population. Contamination of high altitude water bodies is another factor of concern.

Conservation efforts

The state government and the central government should take necessary steps to safeguard this endangered species. Some of the steps taken by the State government of Jammu & Kashmir are,
1. Enforcement of J&K in Wildlife Protection Act, 1978
2. Anti poaching squads at strategic points.
3. Grazing strictly regulated.
4. Habitat conditions have been improved in the naturally occurring ecosystems of the protected areas.
5. Participatory management and awareness programmes were launched to restore the status of wildlife.