Wildlife rescuers breed six endangered gazelles

Wildlife rescuers at Qinghai Lake in northwest China's Qinghai Province have successfully bred six Przewalski's gazelles so far this year, an endangered species that is native to the lake.

The figure marks the largest number of annual captive-bred births for the gazelles, said Wu Yonglin, a senior researcher with the Qinghai Lake Wildlife Rescue Center (QLWRC).

"They are now very healthy and will be released into the wild at an appropriate time," said Wu.

Przewalski's gazelle is named after Nikolai Przhevalsky, a Russian explorer who discovered one of the animals and brought it back to St. Petersburg in 1875. The short-tailed, long-horned animal was described as a "plateau ballet dancer" by Przhevalsky because of its impressive jumping ability.

The species has declined drastically in recent years because of a deteriorating environment, hunting by wolves and gene degradation.

In 2008, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categorized the Przewalski's gazelle as an endangered animal, adding the species to its Red List of Threatened Species.

Statistics indicate that there were only 1,200 Przewalski's gazelles remaining in the world in 2010, all of which were found in Qinghai Lake's National Nature Reserve.

The QLWRC was established the same year to save the species from extinction. So far, the QLWRC has rescued 17 injured or sick gazelles and bred 12 of the animals, according to Wu.