The Gurez National Park, also known as Musk Deer National Park, is one of the protected areas of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. It is located in

Neelum District Neelum (spelt also ''Neelam''; ) is a district of Pakistan-administered territory of Azad Kashmir, in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir disput ...

Azad kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir ( ), is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger ...

, Pakistan, besides the

Neelum River The Neelum River, or Kishanganga River, is a river in the Kashmir region in the Indian subcontinent. It originates in the Ganderbal district of Indian-administered Kashmir, flows through the Neelam Valley into Pakistani-administered Kashmir, ...

in the

Gurez Gurez, or Gurais (''Guráai'' in the local Shina language), is a valley located in the high Himalayas of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located to the north of the Kashmir Valley, separated from it by the great Himalayan range, and is situat ...

valley. It is located in the high

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

and

Pir Panjal Range The Pir Panjal Range ( ; ) is a range of mountains in the Lower Himalayan region located in the Western Himalayas of northern Indian subcontinent. It runs southeast to northwest between the Beas and Neelam/Kishanganga rivers, in the Indi ...

. It is a thirty-five minute drive from Gurez tehsil. It is also known as Gurez valley national park.

Location

The Gurez national park is located in

, and consists of the easternmost portion of the district, amounting to 14.5% of its territory. It is a thirty minute drive from Neelum town. It is nestles among the

and the

Lower Himalayan Range The Lower Himalayan Range, also called the Lesser Himalayas and Mahabharat Lekh or Himachal, is one of the four parallel sub-ranges of the Himalayas. It has the Great Himalayas to the north and the Sivalik Hills to the south. It extends from t ...

in the Himalayan foothills.

Geography

The park is located in the high Himalayan foothills of north-western. There are rugged mountain tracts rising up to an elevation of 3,000m above sea level. The average elevation mainly ranges from 1,500-3,000m. Natural freshwater streams feed the

, which runs across the Gurez valley. It was notified as a national park in 2007, and is managed by the

Himalayan Wildlife Foundation The Himalayan Wildlife Foundation (HWF), previously called the Himalayan Wildlife Project, is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization based in Islamabad Pakistan focused on conservation of biodiversity and cultural heritage in Pakistan. The ...

. The park covers a total area of .

Flora

The habitat here consists entirely of

Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests The Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests is a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of the middle and upper elevations of the western Middle Himalayas of Nepal, India, and Pakistan. Setting The ecoregion forms a belt of coniferous forest ...

, covered mainly by trees such as

Blue pine ''Pinus wallichiana'' is a pinophyta, coniferous evergreen tree native to the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains, from eastern Afghanistan east across northern Pakistan and north west India to Yunnan in southwest China. It grows in mou ...

, deodar and ''

Betula utilis ''Betula utilis'', the Himalayan birch (''bhojpatra'', ''bhūrjá''), is a deciduous tree native to the Western Himalayas, growing at elevations up to . The Latin specific epithet ''utilis'' means "useful", and refers to the many uses of the dif ...

'', ''

Picea smithiana ''Picea smithiana'' is a species of evergreen tree in the family Pinaceae family. It is referred to by the common names morinda spruce and West Himalayan spruce, and is a spruce native to the western Himalaya and adjacent mountains, from northea ...

'', ''

Abies pindrow ''Abies pindrow'', the pindrow fir, West Himalayan fir, or silver fir, is a fir native to the western Himalaya and adjacent mountains, from northeast Afghanistan east through northern Pakistan and India to central Nepal. Description It is a ...

'' along with some of the last stands of the endangered ''

Taxus wallichiana ''Taxus wallichiana'', the Himalayan yew, is a species of yew, native to the Himalaya and parts of south-east Asia. The species has a variety of uses in traditional medicine. It is currently classified as endangered by the IUCN. Distribution an ...

'' or Himalayan yew. Common flowering plants include ''

Rosa moschata ''Rosa moschata'', the musk rose, is a species of rose which has been long in cultivation. Its wild origins are in southern Iran to Afghanistan. Description ''Rosa moschata'' is a shrub growing to . The prickles on the stems are straight or ...

'' and herbs and grasses such as ''

Skimmia laureola ''Skimmia laureola'' is a species of shrub grown as an ornamental plant. The leaves are edible when cooked. The leaves give an aromatic smell when crushed. It produces white flowers that develop into small round red berries. The berries are eaten ...

'' and ''

Sinopodophyllum ''Sinopodophyllum'' is a herbaceous perennial plant in the family Berberidaceae, described as a genus in 1979. It includes only one known species, ''Sinopodophyllum hexandrum'', native to Afghanistan, Bhutan, northern India, Kashmir, Nepal, Paki ...

'' which make up the flora of the lower slopes.

Fauna

The national park was established to protect the endangered musk deer. In total it is home to some 19 mammals, 100 birds and a few reptiles. The

Himalayan musk deer The white-bellied musk deer or Himalayan musk deer (''Moschus leucogaster'') is a musk deer species occurring in the Himalayas of Nepal, Bhutan, India, Pakistan and China. It is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List because of overexploitatio ...

is found here and the total population could possibly cross 50 individuals. Major mammal species of the park include: *

Indian leopard The Indian leopard (''Panthera pardus fusca'') is a subspecies of the leopard (''P. pardus''). It is widely distributed on the Indian subcontinent. It is threatened by illegal trade of skins and body parts, and persecution due to human-leopard ...

, ''Panthera pardus millardi'' *

Snow leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia'') is a species of large cat in the genus ''Panthera'' of the family Felidae. The species is native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because ...

, ''Panthera uncia'' *

Leopard cat The leopard cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis'') is a Felinae, small wild cat native to continental South Asia, South, Southeast Asia, Southeast, and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely di ...

, ''Prionaillurus bengalensis bengalensis'' *

Himalayan brown bear The Himalayan brown bear (''Ursus arctos isabellinus''), also known as the Himalayan red bear or isabelline bear, is a subspecies of the brown bear occurring in the western Himalayas. It is the largest mammal in the region, males reaching up to ...

, ''Ursus arctos isabellinus'' *

Himalayan black bear The Himalayan black bear (''Ursus thibetanus laniger'') is a subspecies of the Asian black bear. It is distinguished from '' U. t. thibetanus'' by its longer, thicker fur and smaller, whiter chest mark. The species is considered an ecological ind ...

, ''Ursus thibetanus laniger'' *

Himalayan wolf The Himalayan wolf (''Canis lupus chanco'') is a Canis, canine of debated taxonomy. It is distinguished by its genetic markers, with mitochondrial DNA indicating that it is genetically Basal (phylogenetics), basal to the Holarctic Wolf, grey wolf ...

, ''Canis lupus chanco'' *

Yellow-throated marten The yellow-throated marten (''Martes flavigula'') is a marten species native to the Himalayas, Southeast Asia, Southeast and East Asia. Its coat is bright yellow-golden, and its head and back are distinctly darker, blending together black, white, ...

, ''Martes flavigula flavigula'' *

Beech marten The beech marten (''Martes foina''), also known as the stone marten, house marten or white breasted marten, is a species of marten native to much of Europe and Central Asia, though it has established a feral population in North America. It is li ...

, ''Martes foina'' *

Red giant flying squirrel The red giant flying squirrel or common giant flying squirrel (''Petaurista petaurista'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae (squirrels). It is found in a wide variety of forest–types, plantations and more open habitats with scatter ...

, ''Petaurista petaurista albiventer'' *

Long-tailed marmot The long-tailed marmot (''Marmota caudata'') or golden marmot is a marmot species in the family Sciuridae. It occurs in mountainous regions in the central parts of Asia where it lives in open or lightly wooded habitats, often among rocks where dw ...

, ''Marmota caudata aurea'' *

Kashmir stag The Kashmir stag, also called hangul (), is a subspecies of Central Asian red deer endemic to Kashmir and surrounding areas. It is found in dense riverine forests in the valleys and mountains of Jammu and Kashmir and northern Himachal Pradesh. ...

, ''Cervus elaphus hanglu'' *

, ''Moschus leucogaster'' *

Kashmir musk deer The Kashmir musk deer (''Moschus cupreus'') is an endangered species of musk deer native to Afghanistan, India, Nepal and Pakistan. It was originally described as a subspecies to the alpine musk deer, but is now classified as a separate species. ...

, ''Moschus cupreus'' Birds of the park include: *

Himalayan snowcock The Himalayan snowcock (''Tetraogallus himalayensis'') is a snowcock in the pheasant family Phasianidae found across the Himalayan ranges and parts of the adjoining Pamir range of Asia. It is found on alpine pastures and on steep rocky cliffs w ...

, ''Tetrrogallus himalayensis'' *

Himalayan monal The Himalayan monal (''Lophophorus impejanus''), also called Impeyan monal and Impeyan pheasant, is a pheasant native to Himalayan forests and shrublands at elevations of . It is part of the family Phasianidae and is listed as Least Concern on th ...

, ''Lophophorus imejanus'' *

Koklass pheasant The koklass pheasant (''Pucrasia macrolopha'') is a species of gamebird, being closely related to progenitive grouse that lived during the Miocene. They are distantly related to pheasants and are most closely related to grouse and turkeys. Kok ...

, ''Pucrasia malphora'' *

Himalayan vulture The Himalayan vulture (''Gyps himalayensis'') or Himalayan griffon vulture is an Old World vulture native to the Himalayas and foothills in North India, North and Northeast India, Northeastern India, as well as the adjacent Tibetan Plateau. After ...

, ''Gyps himlayensis'' Reptiles include ''

Laudakia agrorensis ''Laudakia agrorensis'', the Agror agama, is a species of agamid lizard. It is found in eastern Afghanistan, northwestern India (Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Kashmir), and northern Pakistan. It is associated with rocky outcrops in low mount ...

'' and ''

Laudakia tuberculata ''Laudakia tuberculata'' (Kashmir rock agama or tuberculated agama) is a species of agamid lizard found in northern Pakistan, northern India (W Himalaya, Kashmir, Punjab), Nepal, eastern Afghanistan (needs confirmation), and western China (Tib ...

''.

References

{{Coord, 34, 43, 48, N, 74, 47, 06, E, display=title National parks of Pakistan Protected areas of Azad Kashmir