Tibet Up-Close: Tibetan antelope population grows in natural reserve

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Tibetan antelopes were once gravely endangered, hunted for their fur. But the situation has been getting better. Four-thousand-five-hundred meters above sea-level in one of their natural habitats, the antelopes' population has been steadily growing. All thanks to their human guardian angels. CGTN's Sun Ye has this story from a typical Tibetan nature reserve.

Sighting Tibetan antelopes is a matter of luck.

But it's just a little easier this early summer, in the over 200 square-kilometer Siling Lake natural reserve area where the antelopes roam free and give birth to the next generation.

A delicate time for the "near-threatened" animals. That's why wildlife rangers keep an eye on them and don't disturb them from 100 meters away.

CIWANGBA WILDLIFE RANGER "We patrol on motorbikes in shifts. We try to spot and caution wild dogs, cars and people who are too inquisitive."

They don't do anything if they spot a wolf. Because that's part of nature's way.

CIWANGBA has clocked over 10,000 kilometers in mileage so far this year. And in those all-day-long patrols, he has seen the most heart-warming stuff.

CIWANGBA WILDLIFE RANGER "There is this time I saw seven hundred little Tibetan antelopes together, they were filling the grassland."

The rangers count roughly 5,000 Tibetan antelopes in the reserve area now, a hard-won growth in the population. In the 1980s and 1990s, the nimble antelopes were once poached so heavily that they became "endangered".

GELIEJIACAI DIRECTOR, FORESTRY AND GRASSLAND BUREAU, SHENZHA COUNTY "The most effective thing we've done to protect the antelopes is education. We promote the wildlife protection codes to everyone, including the herdsman, and they now actively join in the protection efforts. Our rangers, all locals, also pass the message on in their patrols."

CIWANGBA says Tibetan antelopes are every Tibetan's friend. And at 52, he plans to watch out for his friends for as long as he can. SY, CGTN, TIBET AUTONOMOUS REGION.