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'Traffic lights' set for migrating Tibetan antelopes
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-07-06 16:34 Herds of Tibetan antelopes
have passed leisurely through the section of the Qinghai-Tibet highway in Hoh
Xil area in northwest China's Qinghai Province, recently, thanks to special
traffic lights newly established for their smooth migration.
The Tibetan
antelope, an endangered species at the top of China's protection list,
native to the grasslands of northwestern Qinghai Province, Xinjiang Uygur
Autonomous Region, and Tibet Autonomous Region, will no longer be faced
with the Qinghai-Tibet highway as an obstacle to migration. [file
photo] | The Tibetan antelope, an endangered
species at the top of China's protection list, native to the grasslands of
northwestern Qinghai Province, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and Tibet
Autonomous Region, will no longer be faced with the Qinghai-Tibet highway as an
obstacle to migration, said an official with the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve
Administration.
The traffic lights are jointly established by the administration and the
Greenriver, an environmental protection organization, with the approval of the
State Environmental Protection Administration, State Forestry Administration and
concerned departments of Qinghai Province.
Each June to the middle of July, more than 10,000 female antelopes migrate
north to give birth along the banks of the Zhuonai and Taiyang lakes in
northwestern China. They then make the return trip with their babies a couple of
months later.
Timid in nature, Tibetan antelopes are usually frightened by busy vehicles on
the highway when crossing the area.
The 2,100-km-long Qinghai-Tibet highway, starts at Xining, capital of Qinghai
Province, and ends Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region. The highway,
running through area with an elevation of over 4,000 meters, is the most
important highway among the total four highways which links Tibet with the rest
parts of China.
Volunteers with Greenriver, an environmental
protection organization based in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, pose
for a group photo while setting out to Hoh Xil, in a bid to protect
Tibetan antelopes during migration June 15, 2004.
[xinhua] | Statistics available show that more
than 85 percent of cargos entering Tibet and 90 percent coming out of Tibet are
transported through this highway. It was put into operation in 1954.
The purpose of setting up the traffic lights is to remind drivers and
tourists to well treat the rare creatures, said Cega, director of the Hoh Xil
Nature Reserve Administration, adding "We also want to arouse the attention of
the general public to treat wild animals equally."
Yang Xin, a member of the "Greenriver" organization, said traffic lights
bring inconveniences to drivers, but most of them supported the move.
Besides, more than 20 passage tunnels have been built on the Qinghai-Tibet
railway, the first railway linking Tibet with the rest part of China and which
is still under construction, for smooth migration of antelopes each year.
Construction of the Golmud-Lhasa section of the 1,140-km Qinghai-Tibet railway
began in June, 2001.
Since the middle of June, 400 to 500 antelopes have crossed the highway and
railway sections in the Hoh Xil area each day.
Yang Xin said, they have set up four observation stations to monitor
antelopes' movement from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m every day.
The traffic lights will stop vehicles on the highway while antelopes passing
the areas for no more than 20 minutes each time, and the service will last
through the middle of July. Railway projects are also suspended for the time
being to avoid the migration of the antelopes.
An extremely rare species found only in China, the Tibetan antelopes are
targeted by poachers for use in making shawls that sell for up 11,000 US
dollars. Their rampant killing has led to a drastic decline in their numbers,
from tens of thousands in the early last century to over 70,000 at present. The
Tibetan antelope is listed on the "Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species" (CITES).
China has already taken a series of measures to protect Tibetan antelopes and
has established the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve specially for antelope protection.
Early this year, China launched a major anti-poaching blitz in the Hoh Xil
Nature Reserve, the main habitat of the Tibetan antelope, to protect migrating
pregnant Tibetan antelopes.
Main forces of the anti-poaching scheme will not only patrol the nature
reserve and scout around at the juncture of Qinghai Province and Xinjiang Uygur
Autonomous Region in northwest China and the juncture of Tibet Autonomous Region
in southwest China.
And in recent years, more and more volunteers have joined the efforts to
protect the endangered species in the nature reserves.
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