Srinagar, Jan. 1 -- The population of the Jammu and Kashmir's royal stag, also known as Hangul, a critically endangered species of red deer endemic to the Kashmir Valley, has logged a significant growth, officials and conservationists said. According to the latest census, which was conducted in March 2025, the animal's number has increased to 323 from 289 in 2023, they said. Hangul once ruled the Valley but has become a critically endangered species with sightings mostly reported in Srinagar's Dachigam National Park along with a few connecting pockets in south Kashmir like Tral Wildlife Sanctuary. Wildlife officials say that the stabilisation and increase in population is the result of conservation efforts aimed to protect the animal in Dachigam and improvement in the situation in the Valley for the past two decades. The census data was shared in the 6th meeting of the Wildlife Board which was chaired by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at Lok Bhavan on Monday. "The board noted with satisfaction the increasing trend of population of Hangul from 127 in 2008 to 323 in the 2025 census," an official said. The last viable population of Hangul (Cervus hanglu hanglu) in the Indian sub-continent now exists only in protected Dachigam National Park, a vast mountainous sanctuary (141 sq km) on the outskirts of Srinagar, where Hangul grazed in hordes before the start of militancy in 1989. Lately there have been sightings in connected areas outside the park including in south Kashmir's Tral but their number was negligible. The species has been placed in 'critically endangered' category by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and is the only survivor of the red deer group in the Indian sub-continent. A population census is conducted every two years. In 2019, the number was 237 up from 214 in 2017....