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Conservation Prospects of the Kashmir Red Deer (Cervus Hanglu Hanglu) Beyond Dachigam National Park, in Jammu and Kashmir, India

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Conservation Prospects of the Kashmir Red Deer (Cervus Hanglu Hanglu) Beyond Dachigam National Park, in Jammu and Kashmir, India RESEARCH ARTICLES Conservation prospects of the Kashmir Red Deer (Cervus hanglu hanglu) beyond Dachigam National Park, in Jammu and Kashmir, India Rahul Kaul1, Mayukh Chatterjee1,*, Tapajit Bhattacharya1,2, Smita Bodhankar1, Riyaz Ahmad1, Mansoor Nabi Sofi1 and Samina Amin Charoo3 1Wildlife Trust of India, F-13, Sec-8, Noida 201 301, India 2Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun 248 002, India 3Department of Wildlife Protection, Jammu and Kashmir 190 008, India today these deer thrive within a single 141 sq. km pro- India’s only extant red deer species, the Kashmir red tected area, the Dachigam National Park, in the state of deer, or hangul (Cervus hanglu hanglu) is restricted 7,8 today to the confines of the 141 sq. km Dachigam Na- Jammu and Kashmir harbouring about 200 individuals . tional Park (NP) in Jammu and Kashmir, with about Its population within Dachigam also underwent a decline 200 surviving individuals. A continual population de- in the recent past, primarily due to poaching, habitat cline of hangul has necessitated the identification of fragmentation and degradation9. Hangul is also the state relict populations and suitable habitats outside Dachi- animal of Jammu and Kashmir. gam NP, so that a meta-population approach to its Most of what is known about hangul is from brief conservation may be employed. Extensive surveys in studies in Dachigam National Park8–14. Indeed, even 2008–2012 across the Kashmir valley, helped identify population estimates represent largely the Dachigam three distinct areas, where the presence of the red population along with few adjoining protected forests deer was confirmed year-round. Ecological Niche such as Daksum, Thajwas–Baltal and Overa–Aru cover- Factor Analysis results indicated that hangul exhibits high global marginality (1.24) and low global tolerance ing about 808.32 sq. km (refs 8, 9). Despite recognition as the state animal, and their un- (0.28). Habitat suitability modelling predicted 14,15 610.75 sq. km area of conifer and temperate broad- derstood importance as a prey species , hangul contin- leaved forests as highly (61–100%) suitable and ues to face increasing risks of local extinction7,16. 980.25 sq. km as moderately (31–60%) suitable, pri- Although hangul populations were historically known to marily in two distinct areas of Wanghat Naranag and occur in several areas outside Dachigam11,17, long-term Chandaji, which also showed presence of the hangul conservation focus on hangul has been confined only to year-round. This suggests that apart from Dachigam the Dachigam population, and a majority of these sites NP, suitable habitats bearing hangul populations still have lost populations substantially over recent years. One exist in Kashmir valley (935.46 sq. km), emphasizing study also highlighted a steady population decline at the need to urgently direct protection and conserva- around 5% per annum in the Dachigam population8. Such tion focus to these areas to conserve hangul successfully in this landscape. a situation of geographic isolation poses high risks of local extinction due to inbreeding bottlenecks18,19, as well as stochastic events, such as disease outbreaks8. Indeed, a Keywords: Corridor, habitat suitability, Hangul, Kashmir recent study on the genetic structure of the Dachigam stag, red deer. population also suggests that the hangul population in the park is highly inbred16. RED deer is one of the most widespread deer species in 1 Genetic isolation and inbreeding risks are important the world . Yet several red deer species have gone locally 20 2 factors that are implicated in the risk of local extinction . extinct from Albania, Mexico and Nepal , and several It is in this light that identification and studies of meta- others are severely threatened3–5. Among the latter, the 6 populations are today utilized to understand and conserve hangul or the Kashmir red deer (Cervus hanglu hanglu) a variety of species21–24. Consequently, studies have also is the only surviving sub-species of red deer in the Indian focused on factors affecting metapopulation dynamics of sub-continent, and also classified as critically endangered various species such as, source and sink systems25,26, mi- (IUCN Redlist, 2017). Once thought to be a single popu- gratory or dispersal corridors27,28 as well as suitable habi- lation cline, contiguous through Sindh and Iran, and tat availability29,30. Although relatively recent, these and converging with the Central Asian red deer populations, several other studies exemplify the importance of under- standing population structures of a species at landscape *For correspondence. (e-mail: [email protected]) levels, before developing conservation and management CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 114, NO. 10, 25 MAY 2018 2123 RESEARCH ARTICLES strategies. In the case of hangul, it is of paramount impor- available literature and anecdotal accounts of hangul tance to realize that the Dachigam population is vulner- presence (Figure 1, Shikar map of 1940), 33 sites within able to extinction risks, and to resolve whether sub- 17 watershed catchments in the Kashmir valley were populations still do exist outside Dachigam. Also critical shortlisted and local communities were interviewed exten- is to understand the availability of sufficient suitable sively for first-hand accounts of hangul presence (Figure habitats to facilitate re-colonization and thus, the conser- 2). Based on data gathered from the secondary survey, six vation of hangul. The present study highlights specifi- watersheds were identified as potential relict sites where cally, the extent of suitable habitat availability, and the hangul still occurs year-round – Chandaji–Diver–Lolab, interconnectivity of such habitat with Dachigam National Guraiz–Telail, Wanghat–Naranag, Rajparian–Daksum, Park. This information is expected to greatly help in the Overa–Aru and Thajwas–Baltal. These catchments recovery of hangul or the Kashmir stag, through revision largely comprise a gradient of alpine habitats, ranging of management strategies incorporating protection of from mixed alpine grasslands and meadows with juniper identified sub-populations and their vital habitat patches, patches, to coniferous and broad leaved forests, and also in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. harbour several large mammalian fauna, including the musk deer (Moschus spp.), Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus), common leopard (Panthera pardus) and red Materials and methods fox (Vulpes vulpes). Out of the six shortlisted catchments, five catchments Study area were surveyed extensively (the sixth catchment could not be surveyed because of security restrictions) through trail The findings presented here emerge from extensive surveys to detect evidence of hangul presence. Presence surveys conducted from 2008 to 2012. Based on the of the species (through indirect signs and direct sightings) as well as various habitat characteristics were recorded within each surveyed catchment. Geographic locations Figure 1. Digitized areas of hangul presence as depicted in Shikar Figure 2. Boundary of catchments surveyed for secondary informa- Map of 1940 (left inset), overlaid on a shaded relief map of Kashmir tion of hangul presence and protected areas overlaid on a shaded relief valley. map of Kashmir valley. 2124 CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 114, NO. 10, 25 MAY 2018 RESEARCH ARTICLES Figure 3. Evidences of the Hangul (a) pellet cluster (b) Hoof mark (c) tree-scrape and (d) direct sighting in Wanghat– Naranag. with signs of hangul presence recorded from these sur- sions below a minimum size of about 8 cm and/or with veys were used to develop a habitat suitability model for any other ambiguities were rejected. Often, hangul pres- the entire Kashmir valley. Additionally, geographic loca- ence was ascertained based on spatial aggregation of mul- tions of sites from which hangul were rescued by the De- tiple sign types (n = 12), such as hoof marks, pellets, partment of Wildlife Protection, Jammu and Kashmir feeding signs and antler rubbing signs on the trees (n = 6) as well as opportunistic records of sightings by besides direct sightings (Figure 3 c and d). Surveys were local villagers, army personnel and forest department conducted within select sites twice a year, i.e. in the staff (n = 19), from 1993 to 2012, were used to evaluate spring and winter seasons. the habitat suitability model. Analysis Field methods Habitat suitability modelling Individual watershed catchments were selected as the unit of assessment as mountainous watersheds follow clear Since false absences can induce considerable bias into delineations through natural boundaries of elevated models designed to evaluate or predict habitat use by a ridges. Within each selected catchment, surveys were species31,32, a presence-based method was adopted, as it conducted along natural trails and paths, and all secon- does not make strict assumptions about absences. Eco- dary signs of presence of hangul and other mammals logical niche factor analysis (ENFA) was employed using were recorded, geo-tagged and photographed [pellets the program Bio Mapper31,33, which evaluates species (n = 21) and tracks (n = 30)]. Hangul pellets were differ- occurrences in relation to a background matrix of envi- entiated from the pellets of domestic ungulates (e.g. ronmental (habitat) characteristics called Eco-Geographic sheep and goat) by their characteristic large sizes and bul- Variables (EGV)31. let like shape with one sharp tapering end (Figure 3 a). We determined the extent of habitat suitability model Similarly,
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