Black Flame by Gerelchimeg Blackcrane

Author:Gerelchimeg Blackcrane
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Groundwood Books Ltd.
Published: 2013-04-17T04:00:00+00:00

6

PROTECTING THE ANTELOPE

WHAT IS IT THAT ENABLES the antelope to survive the plateau’s cruel winters? Beneath their thick fur is a layer of fur nearly seven times softer and more delicate than human hair and probably the world’s finest and warmest. But it is precisely this fur that means the antelope can no longer live in peace the way they used to, or rather man’s discovery of this fur has made it so. And now the entire species finds itself perilously close to extinction.

It didn’t take humans long to realize that these skins, first used as modest coverings, could, in fact, be much more. The fur could be woven into robes embellished with precious stones, and then came cashmere coats and pashmina scarves. It was a magic material, as light as feathers. A shawl two yards long could be pulled through a wedding ring, and yet the making of it meant the sacrifice of three antelope. And if one of these antelope was a mother with young to feed, even more lives would pay for the garment. But it is just this kind of sumptuous, exclusive clothing that draws attention to its owner.

Every year more than twenty thousand antelope are killed, and many of those are calving mothers and their young. They are skinned, and their hides are sent to Nepal and India. The smugglers will risk life and limb for the six hundred percent profit they can make on one animal. Then in old workshops, skilled craftsmen take the blood-spattered skins and turn them into beautifully woven masterpieces to be sent off to the so-called civilized corners of the world. There they are sold for as much as twenty thousand dollars as luxurious accessories for glamorous women.

This bloody trade has devastated the antelope population. In 1900, there were some million antelope freely wandering the plateau. Nowadays reports say the number is less than seventy-five thousand.

A response has been mounted. Teams have started roaming the grasslands, protecting the antelope from poachers. Some of these idealistic people came together to form an environmental protection team under the supervision of the Tibetan Autonomous Region Committee for the Protection of Antelope.

They were known across the region as the guardian angels of the Tibetan antelope, and within two weeks of their meeting, Han Ma, Yang Yan and Kelsang became the newest members.

A couple of days after meeting Kelsang, Han Ma and Yang Yan drove the cross-country jeep into the environmental protection station at Hoh Xil. As concerned environmentalists, they were donating the jeep to the cause.

The next day, Yang Yan and Han Ma became the first volunteers of the year to join the Antelope Protection Team’s tour of the plateau mountains. They were driving the very same jeep, but it now had the team’s name painted in red letters on the side. Two other members had joined them, so Kelsang had to be tied up in the narrow space between the rear windshield and the back seat.

Three vehicles drove into the grasslands of Hoh Xil.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.