Newborn Tibetan antelopes return home

Tibetan antelopes birthed since the beginning of this month are starting to return to their natural habitats, according to the Hoh Xil National Nature Reserve Administration. Since the end of May, about 35,000 female Tibetan antelopes from northwest and southwest China have gathered at the bank of Zonag Lake in Hoh Xil, a desolate area in the northwestern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, to give birth. "The pregnant antelopes have given birth to over 16,000 calves this year," said Xiao Penghu, deputy chief of the reserve's management bureau. As more of the antelopes are returning home to join their male counterparts, conservation stations have been set up to monitor their migration and ensure their safety while traveling across the Qinghai-Tibet railway and highway. Wang Zhoutai, an official of the reserve's protection and management office, said only 20 to 30 percent of the newborn antelopes will survive the journey due to adverse weather conditions and natural enemies. There were only about 20,000 Tibetan antelopes in or near the reserve in 1998, when the reserve was established, Xiao said previously. The number of Tibetan antelopes has increased to more than 70,000, as poaching has been nearly eradicated in recent years, Wang said.