Ranger dedicates more than a decade to protecting Hoh Xil wildlife paradise in NW China’s Qinghai

Lhundrup Tsegyel, deputy head of the Sonam Dargye protection station under the Sanjiangyuan National Park administration bureau, has dedicated himself to protecting the inhospitable Hoh Xil, an ideal habitat for wildlife in northwest China’s Qinghai Province, for 16 years.

Photo shows Lhundrup Tsegyel at work. (Photo courtesy of the Gansu Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League)

In 2006, Lhundrup Tsegyel became a ranger in Hoh Xil, which covers 45,000 square kilometers at an average elevation of 4,600 meters and encompasses China’s largest area of uninhabited land.

Going deep into the no man’s land to patrol mountains is one of the tasks undertaken by Lhundrup Tsegyel and his colleagues. The difficulties they have had to overcome during patrol tasks would be unimaginable for ordinary people, including harsh natural conditions, loneliness, and potential attacks from wild animals. Besides, their vehicle would often get stuck along their way.

When he patrolled Hoh Xil for the first time, he thought for a moment about turning back in retreat. After he found that Hoh Xil is actually a paradise for endangered species, including Tibetan antelopes, Tibetan wild donkeys, Tibetan gazelles and wild yaks, he became more determined to protect the wild animals.

Each year, pregnant Tibetan antelopes will start to migrate to Zonag Lake in Hoh Xil in May to give birth to their offspring, nurturing their newborn calves before departing around August. To better protect the species, the Zonag Lake protection station was built. Lhundrup Tsegyel and his colleagues have stayed at the Zonag Lake protection station every summer to patrol the area around Zonag Lake.

Over the course of 16 years, Lhundrup Tsegyel managed to patrol the mountains in Hoh Xil over 10 times every year.

Thanks to the efforts of rangers like Lhundrup Tsegyel, not a single shot has been fired by poachers in Hoh Xil since 2006, and the population of Tibetan antelopes in the area has recovered to more than 70,000.

In 2019, Lhundrup Tsegyel was awarded the China Youth May 4th Medal. He then became the deputy head of the Sonam Dargye protection station in Hoh Xil.

He also serves as a “guide” at the publicity and education exhibition hall of the Sonam Dargye protection station, telling stories of Hoh Xil to visitors.

Lhundrup Tsegyel and his colleagues also stop traffic on the Qinghai-Tibet Highway to form a passage through which Tibetan antelopes can cross the pavement. “People also voluntarily stop their cars to let Tibetan antelopes cross the highway, indicating that the concept relating to harmony between man and nature enjoys broad public support,” he said.

A wildlife rescue center has also been incorporated into the Sonam Dargye protection station, where Lhundrup Tsegyel and his colleagues rescue and protect wild animals that get separated from the herd along with any animals that have been injured. They will nurture them to full health before releasing them back into the wild.