LHASA, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Though it has been seven years since Changchub Lhamo's retirement, the former Tibetan ranger often returns to the vast grassland to visit her ungulate "friends."
Changchub Lhamo, 67, used to work at Riwoche national nature reserve in Riwoche County in the city of Qamdo, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. Covering an area of 1,206 square km, the nature reserve was set up to protect red deer, a species under second-class national protection.
The bond between Changchub Lhamo and the red deer dates back over 50 years, when she, at the age of 15, saved three fawns in the wild.
"I found them while farming in the field. I waited all day without seeing their parents, and so I decided to take them home to protect them from beasts or starving to death," she recalled.
Even though her family was not well-off at that time, she spared some barley for the baby deer and fed them yak milk. At night, she cuddled them while sleeping to keep them warm.
The three fawns grew healthily under the meticulous care of Changchub Lhamo, and one of them was even named after her.
Two years later, Changchub Lhamo released them into the wild. "I was reluctant to part with them, but I knew that nature was their home," she said.
In the first winter after their release, Changchub Lhamo was surprised to find the three red deer returning, followed by a few more.
After learning about the moving story, the local government allocated a pasture for the red deer to graze during winter and hired Changchub Lhamo as a ranger.
The Riwoche red deer nature reserve was established in 1993 and upgraded to a national one in 2005.
Duan Shichang, from the forestry and grassland administration of Riwoche County, said the local government spends more than 200,000 yuan (about 27,700 U.S. dollars) on fodder to help red deer survive winter every year, while monitoring stations, patrol trails and veterinary stations have also been built.
Thanks to these protection measures, the population of red deer in the reserve increased from more than 1,000 in the 1990s to about 3,000 currently.
Changchub Lhamo's two sons are now among the nine rangers working for the reserve. The rangers observe the deer, carry out regular patrols and rescue injured deer.
"Red deer are my mother's lifelong affection. Now, I will continue to follow in her steps and make my own contribution to wildlife protection," said Changchub Lhamo's son Rinchen Tsephel, 25, who has been working for the reserve for six years. ■
