Better late than never goes the old saying. Hangul is a rare species in Kashmir the like of which is not found anywhere in the world. Alas this magnificent animal has been hunted down by predators and at present we have anything between 150 and 200 of them to be found in the Dachhigam sanctuary. If proper steps are not taken now to protect it we might lose the species for all times to come.
Though belatedly, nevertheless, the Government and the Wild Life Department have realized that this and other species are under threat of extinction and in a recent meeting of the 12th Standing Committee for State Board for Wildlife a far reaching decision has been taken to create linkage-connectivity in various wildlife areas so that space is provided for Hangul corridor across Kashmir region. It means that more space will be provided for breeding various species of existing wild animals in the frosts of Kashmir. During the meeting, the officials discussed the proposal for declaring 156 Sq Km of Forest and Wildlife Sanctuary as protected land in Kashmir region. The proposed protected area will be named as Tral Wildlife Sanctuary after historical Tral town.
We welcome it. However, we would suggest that a similar step could be taken to protect some of the rare wild species in Ladakh region including the famous Changthang goat which yields Pashmina. Experiments should be made if this specie can be grown in some specific areas in Kishtwar for example. Likewise, sanctuaries ought to be created for rare birds of Kashmir and Ladakh regions. In the Bungas area of Kupwara district there is much scope of developing sanctuaries and it should be explored and exploited.
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