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Abstract Current population and conservation status of Himalayan grey goral (Naemorhedus goral bedfordi) was assessed in Machiara National Park (MNP), Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJandK), during April-December, 2011. Direct (sighting during dawn and dusk and signs) and indirect (using questionnaires) methods were used to survey three union councils (UC) and 22 localities. A population of 91 animals was recorded with a density of 1.92 goral/km2; the highest density was recorded at Ravri (4 goral/km2; UC Machiara). Illegal hunting of 24 goral during 2000-2011 was reported by AJandK Wildlife Department, of which nine were reported from protected areas and two from MNP. Despite the protected status of goral under AJandK Wildlife Act, habitat destruction, illegal hunting, poaching, over-grazing by livestock and human disturbance are the major threats to future conservation of grey goral.
Key words: Himalayan grey goral, Machiara National Park.
INTRODUCTION The Himalayan grey goral (Naemorhedus goral bedfordi: family Bovidae, order Artiodactlyla, class Mammalia) is a cliff-dwelling rupicaprine (Fakhar-i-Abbas et al., 2011). Goral is an oriental species and endemic to the Himalayan range. It is thought to have entered Pakistan through the northern corridor (Fakhar-i-Abbas, 2006; Mirza, 1998). The distribution range of species extends from Pakistan to north India, Nepal, Bhutan, up to Mishmi hills of Assam (Grubb, 1975; Roberts, 1997; Prater, 1980).
In Pakistan, goral is present in the Himalayan foothills; Margalla range (Federal Capital Territory), Murree foothills (Punjab), Abbottabad, Haripur, Mansehra, Mardan, Buner, Kohistan, Swat, Dir, Malakand, Nowshera (Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, KP) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJandK) (Roberts, 1997; Fakhar-i-Abbas, 2006). Roberts (1997) reported the presence of the species in AJandK in Neelum Valley north of Athmuqam, while Qayyum (1985), Zoological Survey 1997; Fakhar-i-Abbas, 2006) Department (1986) and Fakhar-i-Abbas (2006) reported its presence in Muzaffarabad (Machiara National Park and Qazi Nag Game Reserve), Kotli and Poonch.
Goral, like other wild species of goats, is adapted to climbing rocky mountain terrains (Mirza, 1998). Himalayan goral feeds on grassy ridges and steep rocky slopes, but seeking refuge under rock overhangs and thicker forests (Hayssen and Van Tienhoven 1993). The grey goral is listed as near threatened (IUCN, 2011) and the population decline has been ascribed to habitat loss and human predation (Duckworth and MacKinnon, 2008). In Pakistan, goral is protected but enforcement of legislation is...