Saving the Tibetan Antelope

On March 29, 2006, US Fish and Wildlife Service (US FWS) announced the listing of Tibetan antelope as endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. The process began first on October 6, 1999 with a petition by two US-based wildlife conservations organizations. International trade in shahtoosh, the fine hair derived from the mature antelope¡¦s underbelly and used to make shawls and scarves that fetch upwards of US$10,000 per scarf in the West, is prohibited under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) with Tibetan Antelope listed under Appendix I (highest level of protection). But interdiction of shahtoosh imports to the US has been hampered because the antelope is not listed as endangered species under the US law. The listing takes effect from April 28, 2006 and could reinforce the US FWS¡¦s efforts to stop trade in shahtoosh across State lines in the US. Further the US FWS will have an obligation to help the antelope range states in the enforcement and conservation measures to protection the Tibetan Antelope.

A National Geographic co-produced movie Kekexili: Mountain Patrol was screened from April 17 to 23 in different cities in the US, as part of a film festival on modern Chinese movies to mark the recent visit of Chinese president to the US. The film is based on the true story of Wild Yak Brigade, an armed patrol of Tibetans that worked to save the Tibetan Antelope from poachers in Kekexili. The Brigade lost its first leader Sonam Dorjee in a gun battle with 15 poachers in 1994, and his successor, Dawa Dorjee died of gun shot at home in 1998 under mysterious circumstances. In 1997, the Brigade found the birthing ground of Tibetan antelope, a discovery crucial to the fight against poaching and protecting the lives of young orphaned antelopes. The same year Kekexili was designated as nature reserve. The group was disbanded by China in 2001, and today a state-run Kekexili District Protection Administration patrols the Kekexili nature reserve.

On March 13, 2006 Xinhua quoted Abdulla Abbas, a member of China¡¦s National People¡¦s Congress from Xinjiang as saying the number of Tibetan antelope has fallen from about one million at the turn of century to just 70,000 to 100,000 today. He has called for strict protection of a new base of Tibetan Antelope breeding in the western part of Kunlun Mountains in Xinjiang where a few thousand female antelope are known to give birth to lambs.