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Tibetan antelope tipped as Olympic mascot
By Liang Chao (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-03-28 06:05
A carving of the
Tibetan antelope is one display in a show in Beijing March 27, 2005 as
activities lobby hard to select antelope as the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
mascot. [newsphoto] | Tibetan antelope has entered
the highly competitive race to be selected as the animal emblem of the 2008
Beijing Olympic Games.
The protected animal is seen as fully reflecting the spirit of the Olympics,
and will help create "a green, people's and scientific" Olympic Games, officials
and experts argued yesterday as fierce debate rages nationwide.
"As a unique animal of China, the Tibetan antelope is a beautiful animal
surviving in the harsh area from 4,000 to 5,500 metres above sea level which is
part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau known as the 'area forbidden to mankind'," Ma
Peihua, vice-governor of Qinghai Province, Northwest China, said.
But there is stiff competition in the form of the giant panda, the South
China tiger, and the Monkey King - the beloved character from the classic work
"Journey to the West."
Insiders say the emblem may be composed of two or three images. In Sydney in
2000 the emblem featured three animals, and there were two for this summer's
Athens Games.
Chen Runsheng, secretary-general of the China Wildlife Conservation
Association (CWCA) made it clear that the "campaign supporting China's rare or
endangered species of wild animals can raise awareness about animal protection
no matter which wins the mascot competition."
Lobbying on behalf of the animal in Beijing, Ma said: "The Tibetan antelope
is much more sporty than other recommended animals reflecting 'higher, faster
and stronger'" - the spirit of the Olympics.
Their top speed can be 70 to 100 kilometres per hour at a high altitude where
oxygen levels are just half that of the plains.
Tibetan antelopes
in this May 27, 2004 file photo.
[newsphoto] | During migration they run through thousands of kilometres of sterile land
covered with gravel either at the risk of attacks by wolves or cold-blooded
poachers.
More than 1 million Tibetan antelope used to live in the Tibet-Qinghai
Plateau 100 years ago, according to Cai Ga, director of the management bureau of
the Hoh Xil State Nature Reserve.
Their numbers dropped drastically to about 20,000 in the 1980s and 90s due to
poaching for luxurious shahtoosh shawls made of the animal's fur.
But the population has increased to about 50,000 following a decade of
protection efforts, said Cai.
"With an annual budget of 200,000 yuan (US$24,096) from the government, we
have six protection stations set up in the Hol Xil Natural Reserve stretching
45,000 square kilometres across parts of Tibet and Xinjiang," he said.
Last year, for the first time since the 1980s, no cases of antelope poaching
were reported in the protected area due to the hard work of the 35 wardens that
patrol day and night.
(China Daily 03/28/2005 page1)
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