In a bid to step up the conservation of the critically endangered, “Ghosts of the Mountain” or the charismatic snow leopards and Hangul, a species of red deer, endemic to Jammu & Kashmir, the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) has given `4.6 crore to three States. This comes under the Recovery Programme for critically endangered species and their habitat. Snow leopard and Hangul are among the 16 critically-endangered species listed by the MoEF. According to sources in MoEF, J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are among the three naturally occurring habitats for these species. Kashmir has received `1.9 crore during the last for the conservation of hanguls, besides `1.6 crore for the protection of snow leopards. Himachal had received `24.16 lakh for the conservation of the charismatic big cats during the last fiscal, while Uttarakhand received an allotment of `1.26 crores for the same. These activities include construction of captive breeding centres, rescuer centres, water holes, setting up anti-poaching and infrastructural programmes as watch towers , various eco development activities and awareness programmes. The sources pointed out that there has been an increase in the population of hanguls, known for their impressive rack of large antlers. During the 2009 census, the last count was around 175, in compare to present census report of 2011 shows the count of 218. There is a gradual increase in their population,” he added. “The armed conflict in J&K during the last 8 years had put undue pressures on the wild hangul population,” said the sources. In Dachigam National Park, the rare Kashmir stags have been killed for provisions and food. However, recovery measures as the captive breeding programme, have been helpful especially in the Dachigam National Park. “The habitat which is known as ‘mamun’ in local language is now much less disturbed by the security forces and due to others who venture into forests during the course of operations, making the habitat of hangul more safe,” the sources pointed out The problems encountered for conservation of snow leopards on the other hand are its occurrence at very high Himalayan altitude where resources are extremely scarce. The sources pointed out that conserving them on the basis of the conventional model of Protected Area (PA) would require the securing of inviolate spaces for wildlife. “But in cold heights displacing people from existing PAs, leave alone notifying larger ones, would amount to threatening their very survival. It is next to impossible,” they said.