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When the first rays of sunlight illuminated Zonag Lake in the Hoh Xil national nature reserve, Tsewen Dorje left his bedroom and headed for the kitchen to wash milk bottles and boil milk for baby Tibetan antelopes in his care.
Eleven baby antelopes that were bleating for food hopped around outside the kitchen, waiting to be fed by their caregiver.
Meanwhile, Tsewen Dorje picked up his pace as he poured boiled milk into bottles and placed the containers into cold water, dipping the bottles up and down. When the milk turned warm, he entered the antelope pen and found himself circled by the newborns as he squatted down.
After observing the appearance and fur color of the antelopes, he fed each one with their own personal nursing bottle in an effort to prevent cross-infection.
"Baby antelopes cannot be left to go hungry, and must be fed three times a day," he said.
Tsewen Dorje, 21, comes from Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in northwest China's Qinghai Province and formed a liking to the Tibetan antelopes when he listened to stories about the species as a child.
He is a patroller of the reserve and a "babysitter" of rescued baby antelopes from late April to August at the Zonag Lake protection station, one of five protection stations in Hoh Xil reserve.
Covering 45,000 square km and sitting at an average altitude of more than 4,600 meters, the reserve is home to several species, including the Tibetan antelope.
In May each year, pregnant Tibetan antelopes start to migrate to Zonag Lake, which is known as the "delivery room" for the species, and then migrate back to their habitats with their offspring around August.
"As they seek to evade predators, including brown bears and vultures, some baby antelopes may become separated from the herd during migration," he said, adding that these antelopes are in grave danger if they are not quickly rescued.
Tibetan antelopes, under first-class state protection in China, are mostly found in Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
In the 1980s, the Tibetan antelope population declined sharply from 200,000 to 20,000, largely due to illegal hunting. It has recovered thanks to the country's great efforts to improve the species' habitat, and a ban on illegal hunting. In July 2017, Hoh Xil became a world heritage site, and is now home to more than 70,000 Tibetan antelopes.
This year, seven patrollers of the station rescued a total of 11 baby Tibetan antelopes.
Working in the reserve for five years, it was the first time for Tsewen Dorje to be up close to Tibetan antelopes, which brought him both satisfaction and challenges.
As an animal lover with a particular fondness for the species, Tsewen Dorje shouldered the responsibilities of taking care of the rescued antelopes and enjoyed their companionship.
As a single man, he has no experience taking care of children, not to mention caring for baby antelopes. However, he spent as much time with the youngsters as he could, doing his utmost to provide them with the best possible care.
"About a month ago, a baby antelope suffered from diarrhea, which can prove fatal," said Tsewen Dorje.
He added that afterward, he laid the antelope onto his bed to warm it and monitored its health around the clock. Luckily, the antelope pulled through.
At present, the 11 rescued antelopes have all been sent to the wildlife rescue center of the Sonam Dargye protection station, about 160 km away from the Zonag Lake protection station. The baby antelopes will also be taken good care of there.
According to Choephel Tashi, head of the Zonag Lake station, only by protecting the Tibetan antelope can the "pure land" of Hoh Xil be protected.
"After the antelopes receive wild survival training sessions by patrollers, they will be released into the wild," said Tsewen Dorje, who sat on the grasslands basking in the sun.
