The Kashmir stag, also called hangul, is a subspecies of elk native to Kashmir. It is found in dense riverine forests in the high valleys and mountains of the Kashmir Valley and northern Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh. In Kashmir, it is found in the Dachigam National Park where it receives protection but elsewhere it is more at risk. In the 1940s, the population was between 3000 and 5000 individuals, but since then habitat destruction, over-grazing by domestic livestock and poaching have reduced population dramatically. Earlier believed to be a subspecies of red deer, a number of mitochondrial DNA genetic studies have revealed that the hangul is part of the Asian clade of the elk. The IUCN, however, includes it in the new grouping of Central Asian red deer, with the Kashmir stag being the type subspecies. According to the census in 2019, there were only 237 Hanguls.