The no-man's land of Keke Xili , because of the low oxygen geographical environment and the huge day-night temperature difference, it is called a forbidden zone for humans, far away from the influence of humans, and it is a paradise for countless wild animals.
However, unlike today's quiet appearance, There was a catastrophe caused by poaching in Kekexili from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s, and the most miserable one was Tibetan antelope .
"soft gold" on Tibetan antelope
Tibetan antelope lives in high-altitude areas, but it is not like wild yak , which is also a plateau species, with hair that is thick enough to drag to the ground. On the contrary, their hair does not look long, but they have a strong warmth effect. Their red-brown hair on their backs is conducive to absorbing solar radiation, and the white fur on their abdomen can reflect the cold air on the surface.
But the most important thing is that a small layer of fine fluff on their body surface can allow them to move freely in weather of minus 40℃.
This layer of cashmere fiber is very fine and has a diameter of about 10 microns, equivalent to 1/5 of the diameter of human hair. It is the lightest and softest cashmere in the world, with good elasticity and excellent warmth performance. It is called the "king of cashmere". Each Tibetan antelope has only more than 100 grams of fluff on its body.
Shawl made of Tibetan antelope fur is called "Shatush". It has excellent warmth and is as thin as a yarn, which can pass through small finger rings. It is also called "ring shawl".
In the 1980s, Shatush became a symbol of wealth status in Western countries, a value of up to 5,000 to 30,000 US dollars. The fluff of Tibetan antelope is therefore also called "soft gold".
Ring Shawl
Merchants lied that these fluffs were collected from the fluffs that naturally fell off in Tibetan antelope every summer, but this was not the case. In order to make money to the maximum extent, crazy poachers chose to shoot and kill the female Tibetan antelope on the migration road and peeled them on the spot. The scene was extremely cruel.
These Tibetan antelopes still have cubs in their belly, or have just given birth to cubs to return, but have permanently lost their lives because the poacher has lost their lives. The little Tibetan antelope that has not yet grown fine velvet can only be next to their mother's corpse and eventually dies of hunger and cold.
Tibetan antelope in the last century exceeded one million. Because it was massacred by poachers, its number dropped to tens of thousands in just over a decade, less than one-tenth of the original.
And poachers are even more crazy to attack the protectors of Tibet. In 1994, in order to protect Tibetan antelope, Jiesan Sonandajie , deputy secretary of the county party committee of Zhiduo County, Qinghai Province, had a gunfight with poachers in the no-man's land in Kokoxili.
When people found him, he still maintained the position of changing bullets and was frozen into an ice sculpture. In order to commemorate him, the earliest and most well-known protection station in Kokoxili was established on the edge of of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway: Sonam Dajie Protection Station.
Sonandaj's monument
A lady's Shatush shawl requires the fur on the body of three Tibetan antelopes, while a man's shawl requires the fur on the body of five Tibetan antelopes. It can be said that every shawl is covered with sin and blood that cannot be washed away.
However, under the strong attack of the country, there has been no poaching case in the no-man's land in Kekexili for 13 consecutive years. The number of Tibetan antelope has also recovered to more than 70,000, and the total number of Tibetan antelopes in the country has recovered to about 300,000.
Plateau Run Champion
On another unmanned land in China, the ferocious wild yaks, cute Tibetan wild donkeys, and agile Tibetan antelope are collectively called the "Three Musketeers of the Qiangtang Grassland".
Among the "Three Musketeers", Tibetan antelope is undoubtedly the petite one with a weight of about 45 to 60 kilograms , which is only one-small of the Tibetan wild donkey, let alone compared to wild yaks with a weight of tons.But Tibetan antelope also has its own advantages.
Tibetan antelope's lungs are significantly larger than other plateau animals. Their nasal cavity is also very wide, and there is a small sac in each nostril, which can help them inhale and store oxygen .
Their circulatory system is also very special. human heart only accounts for 0.5% of body weight, while Tibetan antelope's heart accounts for 3% of body weight. The red blood cells in the blood of Tibetan antelope are three times that of humans, and the gap is very obvious.
's petite figure makes their movements very flexible. is under the skin above their limbs, and each hides four airbags. When the Tibetan antelope runs, these four airbags will bulge and spray a large amount of gas to the rear to push the Tibetan antelope forward. It can be said to be a real jet-like advance, which is also one of the reasons why they can still run agilely on the plateau.
Therefore, even in an oxygen-deficient plateau environment, the Tibetan antelope can run at 80 kilometers per hour , and their endurance is very excellent. They can run continuously for several hours, and they are extremely skilled in various flashing and maneuvering. They are well-deserved running champions on the plateau.
The male Tibetan antelope has sharp and straight horns on its head, and the length is generally about 60 cm, like two swords. two long horns are very symmetrical. From the side, it looks like there is only one horn, and it is only slightly curved at the end, so Tibetan antelope is also called "unicorn" or "onehorn beast".
"face-changing" Tibetan antelope fights against each other
From some aspects, among the "Three Musketeers", only Tibetan antelope is the one with the most "swordsman". Every time the breeding season comes, the face and limbs of male Tibetan antelope will gradually turn black, and male Tibetan antelope will divide their own territory. If other male Tibetan antelope invade the territory, a great war will inevitably be inevitable.
Fight between male Tibetan antelope
Slim and sharp horns are their best weapon. Two Tibetan antelope will lower their heads and fight with each other with the horns. They are flying back and forth, and the dust looks very intense. If you are not careful, you may be poked into a bloody hole by the other party's "long sword". Every year, Tibetan antelope will be stabbed into the body and pierced the internal organs and die.
However, this is just a few situations. As long as you don’t have red eyes, the battles of Tibetan antelope are often “pointed to the end” so as not to be injured and be taken advantage of by carnivores like wolves after being injured. The winning Tibetan antelope will have 10 to 20 female Tibetan antelope and spend more than 20 days to complete the reproduction task.
After summer enters, pregnant female Tibetan antelope will start a migration journey, crossing thousands of mountains and rivers to Zhuonai Lake and Keke Xili Lake . The male Tibetan antelope will not participate in this migration, but will leave the flock and wander around.
The Mystery of Migration of Tibetan Antelope
The migration of Tibetan antelope is one of the three most spectacular large-scale migration activities of ungulate animals on the earth. However, the migration of Tibetan antelope is even more special. They seem to have calculated the date and distance. The departure date and direction of Tibetan antelope in different regions in are different, but they can finally reach their destination together.
They will not gather into a large group like African wildebeests, running and alarming the entire grassland. The migration of Tibetan antelope is a quiet and silent . Even their activities are no different from usual. They walk around, avoid natural enemies such as wild wolves and brown bears, and walk firmly towards the direction in their hearts.
Only by looking down from a high altitude can you discover this wonder: Two and three Tibetan antelope gathered into a river like a stream, and the rivers gathered into rivers and seas, gradually converging into a huge population of tens of thousands, and finally reaching their common destinations —near Zhuonai Lake and Keke Xili Lake. Tibetan antelope will give birth to their children here, so these places are also called natural delivery rooms of Tibetan antelope.
Migrating Tibetan antelope herds
Tibetan antelope cubs can stand and walk within a few hours after their birth, and then follow their mother on the road back to their habitat. The migration ceremony is about hundreds, even thousands of kilometers away.
According to years of satellite monitoring, the "natural delivery room" is not as warm and comfortable as we imagined. What is the purpose of the Tibetan antelope coming here thousands of miles away?
Zhuonaihu
Zoologists have made a guess, believing that this is a kind of "collective memory", which means that Tibetan antelope itself does not know why it migrates, but for generations, the little Tibetan antelope will naturally think that it should migrate when it grows up. Some Tibetan antelope that have never been to the birthplace will not migrate after pregnancy and form a population that does not migrate.
There is another saying that Tibetan antelope gathered together to give birth. Even if their natural enemies come here to attack Tibetan antelope, even if they cannot escape, they will not cause too many casualties. But this habit can block wild wolf and brown bear, but it cannot stop greedy poachers, which instead leads them to become the dead souls of poachers under the gun.
Fortunately, under China's persistent protection and severe blow to poaching, the smoke of gunpowder that enveloped Qinghai-Tibet Plateau finally dissipated and became wide and quiet again. The number of Tibetan antelope has been restored, and the protection level has dropped from endangered to near-risk. However, the tragedy of the last century still reminds us that we cannot relax our protection of Tibetan antelope.
Reference
"Exploring the Secrets of Tibetan Antelope" Poplar
"Tibetan Antelope: The Pride of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau" Di Zhiying
"The Mystery of Tibetan Antelope Migration" Ren Hongyu
"Elf on the Plateau - Tibetan Antelope" Liu Hongru
"Kokexili: The Hometown of Tibetan Antelope" Liu Li
