For many people catching a glimpse of a Tibetan Antelope would be something fun. But watching them for years may not be so entertaining. Antelope guardians, usually young people, spend years in the remote area to protect these lovely creatures. Andrew Dupuis, takes us to Hoh Xil, Tibet for a close look.

Sonsen Nambo is 28 years old. He has been working here as an antelope guardian for more than seven years at an attitude of 4,500 meters. He and his colleagues' daily routine includes patrolling inhabited areas, tracking vehicle marks, checking suspicious hunters and occasionally, collecting lost young Tibetan Antelopes.

Life is tough here. For Sonsen Nambo and his colleagues, a warm meal is often hard to come by. Even still, many young men choose to stay and keep their hard lives to themselves.

Sonsen Nambo said, "My family doesn't know it's so hard here. I don't want to tell them everything. I just tell them I am safe before patrolling in the mountains."

Workers of Hoh Xil Nature Reserve Administration prepare to burn Tibetan Antelope hides confiscated from poachers in Golmud, in northwest China's Qinghai province, October 22, 2009. Animal protection authorities burned 2,282 Tibetan antelope hides confiscated from poachers in the past 10 years to show resolution against the killing of the rare species. [Xinhua]

Thanks to the consistent work by SONSEN NAMBO and his colleagues, there have been no reported poachers here in Hoh Xil for five years. In Sanandaj Protection Station, a Tibetan antelope helping center has been set up. Lost or abandoned young antelopes are collected and sent here for better lives. As SONSEN NAMBO and his colleagues take care of these little creatures, they become friends.

"Every time I feed the young antelopes, I don't feel lonely anymore. Look at their eyes, so beautiful, so innocent, I feel rewarded." Sonsen Nambo said.

Rewarded it is. Thanks to young people like SONSEN NAMBO who devote their lives, more Tibetan Antelopes are running free, and more people have become inspired to protect these lovely creatures.

A Tibetan Antelope looks at the Qinghai-Tibet railway in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. [Xinhua]

(CNTV July 27, 2011)