More Tibetan antelopes seen Hoh Xil

XINING -- The number of Tibetan antelopes that migrated out of the heart of Northwest China's Hoh Xil (Kekexili) nature reserve after giving birth has seen steady growth in recent years, local authorities said.

Every year, tens of thousands of pregnant Tibetan antelopes come to Zonag Lake in Hoh Xil, which is known as the "delivery room" for the species, between the end of May and early June to give birth and then migrate back to their habitats with their offspring in August.

This year's migration season for Tibetan antelope has finished recently. Statistics from a protection station in the nature reserve show that a total of 6,627 Tibetan antelope were spotted to migrate this year.

Thanks to the increasingly strengthened environmental protection efforts, such as a poaching ban in the nature reserve, the number of Tibetan antelope that migrate back shows an overall rising trend, said Tsering Samdrup, director of the publicity division of the management office of Hoh Xil.

Meanwhile, the local population of Tibetan antelope continues to be restored. To ensure the smooth migration of Tibetan antelope, the management office of Hoh Xil adopted various measures, including frequent patrolling and setting up herdsmen guardian teams.

Tibetan antelope are mostly found in the Tibet autonomous region, Qinghai province, and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. The species is under first-class state protection in China.

The Tibetan antelope population declined sharply from 200,000 to no more than 20,000 due to illegal hunting in the 1980s. It has recovered thanks to measures taken to improve its habitat and a ban on illegal hunting.

In July 2017, Hoh Xil became a world heritage site, and is now home to about 60,000 Tibetan antelopes.