Pic story: rangers rescue pregnant Tibetan antelope during migration in Xizang

This photo taken on June 13, 2024 shows a wolf in Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region.

Not far from a wildlife protection camp deep in the Qiangtang National Nature Reserve, a wolf on Friday attacked a pregnant Tibetan antelope among a migrating herd, leaving wounds in her stomach and neck.

At the sight of the antelope struggling in the snow, several rangers carried her back to the camp for rescue. Unfortunately, her belly was slashed open and internal organs were damaged beyond cure. The rangers had no other choice but to sew up her belly and send her back to the wild, where she was found dead the next morning.

Every year, tens of thousands of pregnant Tibetan antelopes, a species under first-class state protection in China, start their migration around May for birth-giving and would return with their cubs in late July. Their natural enemies including wolves and bears are always there to ambush them. (Xinhua/Jiang Fan)

An aerial drone photo taken on June 13, 2024 shows Tibetan antelopes running on alert in Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Jiang Fan)

This photo taken on June 14, 2024 shows a wolf in Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Jiang Fan)

This photo taken on June 14, 2024 shows an injured Tibetan antelope in Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)

Rangers check an injured Tibetan antelope in Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 14, 2024. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)

Rangers treat an injured Tibetan antelope in Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Tenzing/Xinhua)

This photo taken on June 15, 2024 shows the body of a previously rescued Tibetan antelope in Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

In this video screenshot, a pregnant Tibetan antelope is hunted by a wolf in Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Dawa Dorje/Xinhua)

This photo taken on June 13, 2024 shows a brown bear in Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Jiang Fan)

A ranger sends a rescued Tibetan antelope to the wild in Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Tenzing/Xinhua)

This photo taken on June 13, 2024 shows a wolf in Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Tenzing Nima Qadhup)

Rangers transfer an injured Tibetan antelope to a temporary wildlife protection camp in Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Tenzing/Xinhua)

A ranger builds an improvised shelter for an injured Tibetan antelope in Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 14, 2024. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

This photo taken on June 13, 2024 shows a brown bear in Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Tenzing Nima Qadhup)

Tibetan antelopes are on migration in Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 14, 2024. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Tibetan antelopes are on migration in Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 14, 2024. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

In this video screenshot, a wolf approaches an injured Tibetan antelope in Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Dawa Dorje/Xinhua)

This photo taken on June 15, 2024 shows the body of a previously rescued Tibetan antelope in Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Tenzing Nima Qadhup)

This photo taken on June 14, 2024 shows an injured Tibetan antelope in Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Tenzing Nima Qadhup)

A ranger comforts an injured Tibetan antelope in Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Tenzing/Xinhua)

Rangers check an injured Tibetan antelope in Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 14, 2024. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)

Rangers check an injured Tibetan antelope in Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 14, 2024. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)

A ranger checks an injured Tibetan antelope in Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Tenzing/Xinhua)