The great Mahseer is the largest member of the carp family in the world. Mahseer were the undisputed kings of game fish in Kashmir's himalayan streams till the Mangla Dam in Pakistan set-up an impenetrable barrier that prevented them from migrating to Kashmir.

The good news for die-hard anglers like my friend Dr. Omar Kirmani is that Kashmir's Fisheries Department is breeding the fish and hopes to restock streams with the red-finned Mahseer [Tor tor]. Weighing over a hundred pounds and almost 9ft in length, the Mahseer will surely give the the good doctor a more serious workout than the puny trout he currently chases.


News Link:
Kashmir's Monster Mahseer Carp Set to Make Comeback

Learn more about:
The Mahseer
Fishes of Kashmir

Image © Dr. Omar Kirmani

The magnificent spiral-horned Markhor is the largest member of the goat family in the world. The Markhor is listed as 'critically endangered' as per the IUCN Red List. In India, it is included in the Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 and Kashmir Wildlife (Protection) Act 1978.

The Markhor, whose name means snake-eater in Persian, was highly prized by British 'sportsmen' as a trophy, with the result that Walter Lawrence reported that it had been 'shot out' from the Pir Panjal and Kaj-i-Nag by the late nineteenth century. The Markhor made a recovery of sorts [25000 animals in 1970] till renewed interest in trophy hunting, combined with the use of its meat as a delicacy and horns in traditional chinese medicine, led to its near-extinction in Kashmir by 1990.

The Kaj-i-Nag [12000ft+] in the north-west is home to the Kashmir subspecies (Capra falconeri cashmeriensis) of the Markhor which is characterised by horns having two complete spirals. During 2004-05, 155 Markhors were sighted in 35 herds in Kaj-i-Nag and Hirpura by the 'silent drive count' jointly conducted by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), Nature Conservation Society of Mysore, the J&K Wildlife Department, and the Environment and Ecology Cell of the Indian Army. A population of 280-330 Pir Panjal Markhors has been estimated over the entire range.


News Link:
LoC ceasefire brings back the mountain goats

Image Courtesy : Wikipedia Commons

The majestic Hangul (Cervus elaphus hanglu) is the only surviving race of the Red Deer family of Europe in the Indian sub-continent since the Shou (Cervus elaphus wallichi) of Bhutan is now considered extinct by experts.

The Hangul is listed as 'endangered' in the IUCN Red List. In India, it is included in the Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 and Kashmir Wildlife (Protection) Act 1978. Dachigam National Park is home to the last viable population of Hangul in the world which dwindled from 2000 animals in 1947 to a distressing 170 in 2003. Latest figures indicate that the population may be well below 150 animals with less than 20 adult males.

Wildlife authorities in Kashmir are now planning to fit the Hangul with Global Positioning System (GPS) collars and also to set up captive breeding centres and deer parks in Pahalgam and Gulmarg. Finally the authorities are thinking of more logical schemes than than the earlier hare-brained scheme of exchanging the Hanguls for monkeys from other Indian states. Read this link:
Monkey outweighs Hangul


News Link:
Kashmir's rare red deer to get hi-tech protection