3 . In July 2017, Hoh Xil became a world heritage (遗产) site and there live more than 70, 000 Tibetanantelopes. Every year, pregnant (怀孕的) Tibetan antelopes migrate (迁徙) to Hoh Xil between the end of May and early June to give birth and leave with their children around August. Zonag Lake at the heart of Hoh Xil is known as the “delivery room” for the species.

About 40 female Tibetan antelopes with three young were spotted crossing the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Saturday. Experts say that in recent years, the number of young Tibetan antelopes among the migrating groups consisted of between a fifth and quarter of the population.

“In the early stage of migration, Tibetan antelopes face a high risk of falling prey to predators (盗猎者) so the number of young Tibetan antelopes is relatively small, and there may even be none,” said Lian Xinming, an associate research fellow at Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

According to research, the number of Tibetan antelopes that migrate back has been rising. A total of 5, 952 Tibetan antelopes were spotted migrating in 2020, and 233 more in 2021. “This year’s migration season is expected to finish in early September. The population is expected to continue to increase,” Lian said.

Tibetan antelopes are mostly found in Tibet autonomous region, Qinghai province, and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. The species is under first-class state protection in China.

In the 1980s, the Tibetan antelope population declined sharply from 200, 000 to 20. 000, due to illegal hunting. It has recovered thanks to the country’s efforts to improve its habitat and crack down on poaching (盗猎).

To make sure the species go back to their habitats safe and sound, the reserve’s management bureau has staff monitor their migration. When they come over in large groups, they temporarily close some sections of the road to make way for the animals and prevent them from having interactions with humans.

4 . A four-year-old boy who was crazy about collecting rubbish has finally fulfilled his dream of being a cleaner. Riley McCourt has admired the local rubbish collectors for ages, spending his days picking up waste on his street and wheeling bins (垃圾桶) to the side of the road to help out his neighbors. He loves cleaning and binning waste. His favorite chore is to empty the rubbish from the chip shop his mum runs. Two weeks ago, however, a disaster struck: Riley accidentally knocked over one of the bins and was accused of causing trouble.

Someone posted in the local Facebook group that Riley had put rubbish in the street, clearly unaware of his love for keeping the streets clean. Thankfully his innocence was quickly proven, and his local council decided to make his dreams come true by allowing him to work alongside the cleaners for a day.

Riley joined the waste collection crew on Wednesday, chatting with the team, helping with the recycling, and riding in the waste collection vehicles. He even got his own jacket. Riley's mum, Toni McCourt, said, “He loves the bins and trucks.” Riley's favorite day is definitely bin day. He goes round collecting the rubbish up on the street. The cleaners all know him when they spot him. He goes outside as soon as he sees them come round. He helps his neighbors put their bins out for collection.

Riley clearly made a good impression during his first day on the job, as community services manager Jane Carrol said she was very pleased with his enthusiasm for the role. Jane said, “Riley is clearly a keen recycler and who knows, when he is older I'm sure he would make an excellent member of the team here. It was a pleasure for the team to show him around the vehicles.”