Deaths of endangered gazelles dismay Internet

The deaths of seven Przewalski's gazelle have aroused debate over whether grassland fences should be removed completely. [Photo/Weibo.com]

The deaths of seven Przewalski's gazelle, a species even more endangered than the giant panda, have aroused debate over whether grassland fences should be removed completely.

The antelopes were killed by barbed wire fences around Qinghai Lake, the last stronghold of the species, in northwest China's Qinghai Province, when they tried to jump the fences.

The deaths were discovered by Namgyal, an environmental volunteer and herdsman, on Saturday when patrolling the lake on his motorcycle.

"Six were male. Their dead bodies were stiff. Some were hanging on the wire, while others were lying in pools of blood," he said.

Wang Enguang, head of wildlife and nature reserves in Qinghai, told Xinhua that the local government has sent investigators to the site.

"They died in different locations and at various time. Some might have been chased by predators when they tried to jump the fences," Wang said.

Przewalski's gazelle has China's highest level of protection. Once found all over north and northwest China, the gazelle is now found only around Qinghai Lake.

It was named after the Russian explorer who collected a specimen and took it back to St. Petersburg in 1875.

Despite the population of Przewalski's gazelles recovering from 300 in the mid-1990s to more than 1,000 today, and their habitat being enlarged, they still face a fight for survival against highways, wolves, the weather and, most dangerously, fences.

It was not the first time that fences have killed gazelles during migration. The new tragedy questions the future of these fences, originally built to restrict the movement of livestock, mark ownership of grassland, and to increase productivity.