- Hangul is the state animal of Jammu & Kashmir.
- It is restricted to the Dachigam National Park of Jammu & Kashmir.
- It was once widely distributed in the mountains of Kashmir and parts of Chamba district in neighboring Himachal Pradesh.
- The Hangul’s numbers have constantly declined over the decades and according to the latest survey of 2017, the population of Hangul is 182 in Dachigam and adjoining areas.
- Small isolated Hangul herds have been reported from adjoining areas of Dachigam which include Shikargah-Tral and the Overa-Aru Wildlife Sanctuary in south Kashmir.
- IUCN status:Critically Endangered
- It is placed under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
- Reasons for decline in population:
- Habitat fragmentation, predation and very low fawn-female ratio.
- Male-female and fawn-adult disparity.
- Fawns are predated upon by the dogs.
Ex-situ breeding centre has been set up in a forested area in south Kashmir’s Shikargah-Tralas a Hangul conservation measure.
