Fences dismantled in Tibetan nature reserve for antelopes

Work has begun for dismantling pasture fences in the Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in Tibet to protect Tibetan antelopes and other rare animals in the reserve, a media report said today.

Upon completion of the work, about 700 hectares of meadow in Nyima County, Nagqu city, will be made accessible to the animals.

"The fences were in the core area of the reserve, an important habitat for Tibetan antelopes. Antelopes used to get injured on the fences," Dechen Lhundrup, deputy head of the county forestry police, said.

"Thanks to the relocation of local residents to Lhasa, the fences are no longer needed," the state-run Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying.

At an average altitude of more than 5,000 metres, the reserve covers an area of 298,000 sq km and is home to dozens of protected species. It was established in 1993 as a regional nature reserve and was upgraded to a national reserve in 2000.

The estimated population of Tibetan antelopes in the reserve exceeds 150,000, up from 50,000 two decades ago. Wild yaks now number over 10,000, up from 7,000, and there are more than 50,000 Tibetan wild donkeys, up from 30,000, the report said.