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, said an official with the HohXil 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.

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 antelopeis 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.

(Xinhua News Agency July 6, 2004)