{"id":22946,"date":"2026-08-16T09:21:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T03:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\/?p=22946"},"modified":"2026-08-16T09:21:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T03:36:36","slug":"a-familys-55-year-mission-to-protect-red-deer-in-xizang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\/?p=22946","title":{"rendered":"A Family\u2019s 55-Year Mission to Protect Red Deer in Xizang<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dragon Media News Desk<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wild red deer are naturally wary of humans and generally keep their distance. But at the Riwoqe National Nature Reserve in Qamdo, southwest China\u2019s Xizang Autonomous Region, the relationship between people and wildlife tells a different story.<\/p>\n

When reserve ranger Pema Tsewang kneels down and offers the deer turnips mixed with salt, particularly during difficult seasons, the animals approach him without fear and gently rub against his arms.<\/p>\n

This unusual bond between humans and wildlife was not built overnight. It is the result of a 55-year conservation journey sustained across three generations of Pema Tsewang\u2019s family.
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The story began in 1970 with his mother, Changchub Lhamo. At the age of 15, she found three newborn red deer fawns on a freezing, snowy night.<\/p>\n

She waited for a long time in the hope that their mothers would return. When they did not, she brought the fawns home to protect them from predators and starvation.<\/p>\n

At the time, local herding families lived under difficult economic conditions, surviving largely on a small number of yaks. Despite her family\u2019s limited resources, Changchub Lhamo fed the young deer warm yak milk and protected them from the severe cold by keeping them close to her at night.<\/p>\n

Two years later, when the deer were strong enough to survive independently, she released them back into the wild.<\/p>\n

To her surprise, the animals returned the following winter, accompanied by several more deer.<\/p>\n

The relationship between Changchub Lhamo and the animals gradually deepened. She treated the deer almost like members of her own family and even gave them individual names.<\/p>\n

After local authorities learned of her conservation efforts, the government allocated a winter grazing area for the red deer in 1975 and appointed her as a ranger.<\/p>\n

The Riwoqe Red Deer Nature Reserve was established in 1993 and upgraded to a national-level nature reserve in 2005.<\/p>\n

For decades, Changchub Lhamo carried salt and turnips across difficult mountain terrain to provide supplementary food for the deer during dry seasons. When rivers froze during severe winters, she broke through the ice to obtain drinking water for them.<\/p>\n

Years of working in extreme cold left her hands permanently cracked and damaged.<\/p>\n

One of the most difficult moments in her conservation journey came in early spring 2008, when a severe snowstorm buried the grazing grounds beneath around one metre of snow.<\/p>\n

Fearing that hundreds of red deer could die from hunger and freezing temperatures, Changchub Lhamo mobilised family members and local villagers to carry supplies deep into the snow-covered pasture.<\/p>\n

Days of exhausting work caused severe frostbite in her legs. Although she could barely stand, she reportedly refused to stop.<\/p>\n

At the final remote feeding site, weakened deer gathered around her and licked her swollen, frostbitten hands, an experience that left the lifelong wildlife protector deeply emotional.<\/p>\n

Through sustained efforts by the government, reserve staff and local communities, the red deer population within the 120,000-hectare reserve has increased from just over 500 to more than 8,000.<\/p>\n

China observes National Ecological Day on August 15. This year also marked the implementation of the country\u2019s new Ecological and Environmental Code, strengthening the legal framework for environmental protection, pollution control and green development.<\/p>\n

Xizang has similarly placed strong emphasis on ecological and environmental conservation. The autonomous region has established 47 nature reserves of various types, covering a combined area of 412,200 square kilometres.<\/p>\n

Changchub Lhamo died in 2024, but the conservation mission she began has continued.<\/p>\n

Her son, Pema Tsewang, now works as a ranger at the same reserve. Herding communities in surrounding areas have increasingly adopted wildlife-friendly practices, including keeping livestock away from red deer feeding grounds and leaving migration routes open for the animals.<\/p>\n

Inspired by Changchub Lhamo\u2019s life and work, more than 80 volunteers have also formed an ecological patrol team, with local villagers making up most of its membership.<\/p>\n

The conservation tradition has now reached a third generation.<\/p>\n

Some of the names Changchub Lhamo gave to the deer she once rescued have become part of the names of her three grandchildren. During every winter vacation, the children accompany their parents to the reserve, carrying turnips and salt for the deer just as their grandmother did decades ago.<\/p>\n

According to Pema Tsewang, his eldest son enjoys gently touching the deer\u2019s hooves and treats the animals like friends.<\/p>\n

What began more than five decades ago with a teenage girl rescuing three helpless fawns on the high plateau has evolved into a long-term conservation effort involving a family, local communities and government institutions.<\/p>\n

The story of Riwoqe has become an example of how wildlife conservation depends not only on laws and protected areas, but also on trust between people and nature, community participation and a sense of responsibility passed from one generation to the next.<\/p>\n

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