It’s 2022 now and Changchub Lhamo is 67 years old. She used to work at the Riwoche National Nature Reserve in Riwoche county in the city of Chamdo, Southwest China’s Tibet autonomous region. The reserve was set up to protect red deer. Though it has been seven years since Changchub Lhamo left her job, the former ranger(护林员) often returns to the grassland to visit her “friends”.
When Changchub Lhamo was 15 years old, she saved three deer in the wild. She found them while farming in the field. She waited all day without seeing their parents, so she decided to take them home. At that time, Changchub Lhamo’s family was not well-off. Her family didn’t have much food. But she still raised them on milk and barley(大麦). Fearing that the little red deer would catch a cold at night, Changchub Lhamo hugged them to sleep.
The three deer grew healthily under her care, and one of them was even named after her. Two years later, Changchub Lhamo released them into the wild. “I didn’t want to part with them, but I knew that nature was their home,” she said. During the first winter after their release, Changchub Lhamo was surprised to find the three red deer returning, followed by several others. The deer couldn’t find enough grassland.
The local government knew Changchub Lhamo’s story with red deer. They found a place for the deer and hired Changchub Lhamo as a ranger. In 1993, the Riwoche Red Deer Nature Reserve was established. The local government spends more than 200,000 yuan every year helping red deer survive the winter. Thanks to the protective measures, the red deer population in the reserve has risen from more than 1,000 in the 1990s to about 3,000.
Changchub Lhamo’s two sons are now among the nine rangers who work at the reserve. The rangers observe the deer, carry out regular patrols(巡逻) and rescue injured animals. “I will continue to follow in mom’s footsteps and make a contribution to wildlife protection,” said Changchub Lhamo’s son, Rinchen Tsephel.
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