A forest policeman of Kekexili Nature Reserve nurses a Tibetan antelope at a wild animal rescue center on April 21, 2005 in Chengduo County of Qinghai Province, China. Forest police and workers at Kekexili nature preservation station have saved five Tibetan antelope cubs whose mother was eaten by wolves in June last year. They set up a shelter for the cubs. The Tibetan antelopes are well protected and will be reintroduced to wild field in the future. The endangered Tibetan antelope is one of the key protected animals in China. The animal survives in the harsh area from 4,000 to 5,500 meters above sea level in the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau. More than 1 million Tibetan antelope used to live in the area 100 years ago, but their numbers dropped drastically to about 20,000 in the 1980s and 90s due to poaching for the animal's fur, some of the softest and warmest wool in the world. The population has increased to about 50,000 following a decade of protection efforts.

Photo courtesy: LIFE.com

Tibet has currently established 47 different levels of nature reserves that cover an area of nearly 414,000 square kilometers and more than 34 percent of Tibet's land area, ranking first out of all provinces in China, the People's Daily has reported.

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Among the 125 wildlife species under state protection in Tibet, there are 39 species that are well-protected in the nature reserves, according to Zhang Yongze, director of the Environmental Protection Bureau of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Red deer, generally considered by the international animal research community to have vanished, were discovered again in Tibet in the 1990s, and their numbers are increasing. The number of Tibetan antelope is increasing every year and has reached a total of about 150,000.

Meanwhile, the number of black-necked cranes stands at about 7,000. Furthermore, the 21 ecological function protection zones, eight national forest parks, three national wetland parks, four geological parks and three state-level scenic spots established in Tibet have played a positive role in effectively protecting the key ecological areas of Tibet.