After successfully tagging a hangul (Kashmir stag) with a GPS (global positioning system) collar, wildlife scientists in Kashmir have started receiving satellite data which is opening new dimensions about the biology of the animal. The preliminary data received through satellites has begun providing evidence about the rare animal’s resting places and the average distance it traverses in a day. Scientists had captured and fitted an adult Kashmir red deer or hangul with a GPS collar at Dachigam National Park on the outskirts of Srinagar on March 16. The GPS collar using satellite telemetry is the first such research on the hangul using sophisticated technology. The wildlife scientists in Kashmir are buoyed by the preliminary data and the results obtained from the tagged hangul. “For over a week now, we have been observing the movement of the GPS-tagged hangul and the data obtained so for is opening new dimensions about the hangul biology, its movement patterns,” said Khursheed Ahmad Shah, assistant professor at the Centre for Mountain Wildlife Sciences, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), who is heading the operation. Initially, the scientists were worried that the data from the tagged Hangul might not get transmitted to the satellites through the dense forest, however the data received by the researchers has dispelled their fears. “Before fitting the GPS collar on the hangul, we had fitted a ‘test-collar’ on a horse to see if the GPS data was transmitted through the dense canopy of the Dachigam forests and its higher ranges,” Khursheed said, who along with his other team members has been camping in the Dachigam park for over a week now to place GPS collars on other hanguls. Under the Hangul Monitoring Project, the first of its kind in J&K, the SKUAST in collaboration with the J&K Wildlife Protection Department and the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, had procured four GPS collars and so for one collar has been fitted. “Since the collar was fitted on the rare red deer on March 16, we have been able observe that the animal travels 3-4 km in less than 24 hours,” Khursheed said. The special GPS collars have a battery life of two years and are programmed to drop off from the tagged animal after two years. Besides, in the eventuality of the any problem to the tagged animal, the GPS collars are programmed to emit a special signal. “The GPS collar has a special mortality-sensor fitted to it, which will signal us in case the animal is dead”, said Khursheed, adding that they plan to tag more hanguls in the coming days to strengthen the study on the rare red deer. Monitoring Project Hangul (Cervus elaphus hanglu) is one of the critically endangered wildlife species and is the only Asiatic survivor of the red deer The GPS collars procured under Hangul Monitoring Project, would ensure its tracking. The data emitted from the collars would provide in-depth knowledge on lesser-known aspects of hangul biology, behaviour and ecology