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The Goitered gazelle, a typical hoofed animal of the desert, is now under second-class state protection. The gazelles are mainly distributed over the deserts on the southern and northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

In the 1950s, the number of Goitered gazelles in Xinjiang topped 450,000. By the 1960s, this number rapidly decreased because local people were allaying their hunger with the animal. Since China mplemented a law on the protection of wildlife on March 1, 1989, people's awareness of the need to

protect the environment has been enhanced and the hunting of the Goitered gazelle has been restricted. Today, there are about 50,000 Goitered gazelles in Xinjiang.

This type of gazelle has an acute sense of hearing, sight, and smell, and can run 80 kilometers per hour. Therefore, it is very difficult for people to approach these gazelles and shoot closeups of them. Since 1996, I have tried many times to take pictures of the wild Goitered gazelles.

Digging a Pit and Lying Low to Wait for Goitered Gazelles

The wildlife in my pictures is often calm. I don't like using a car to drive wild animals out into the open in order to photograph them. Although pictures of an animal running wild look magnificent, the normal, eaceful life of the animal is often disturbed, and it sometimes ends up foaming at the mouth and dying from great exertion. My intention is to photograph animals in the wild to enhance people's awareness of the importance of wildlife conservation.

In October 1999, together with several friends of mine, I started my 13th trip to the Kalamaili Mountain, 350 kilometers away from Urumqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. After several days of arduous searching, I found an ideal photographing site in the desert, a pond that is 100 meters long and 50 meters wide. Containing melted snow and rainwater, the pond is a precious water source in the center of the desert. On the banks of the pond, there were many animal tracks, including those of wolves, foxes, wild donkeys, Goitered gazelles, and birds. Not wanting to agitate the wildlife, we decided to camp two kilometers away from the pond.

It was in late autumn, and the wind was blowing cold in the desert. We wore our cotton-padded vercoats and slept out in the open, smelling the fragrant grass while watching the star-studded sky and enjoying the serenity that can't be found in bustling cities.

At six o'clock the next morning, we went toward the pond and hid in a grove of red willows, or Chinese tamarisks, 100 meters away from the pond.

The neigh of wild donkeys broke the silence of the desert, and birds began to sing. As the fog lifted, we saw several wild donkeys and Goitered gazelles coming towards the pond to drink. It was our first time taking pictures of the gazelles and wild donkeys. Although excited, we were unsatisfied because they were too far away from us. Waiting for the gazelles to reappear, we didn't leave the grove until the land around us was enveloped in a curtain of darkness.

We returned to our campsite in a state of utter exhaustion. I thought a lot about how to approach the Goitered gazelles and couldn't sleep that night. Eventually, I hit upon the excellent idea of digging a pit.

Next morning, taking along a spade, drinking water, food, a waterproof sheet, and photographic quipment, I walked alone to the pond. Before sunrise, I took off my cotton-padded overcoat and dug a pit in the sandy bank against the cold wind. After an hour, a pit, 100 centimeters long, 80 centimeters wide, and 60 centimeters deep, was completed. I covered the pit with withered tree branches and grass, and spread a waterproof sheet on the wet floor. Once the tripod was erected and the camera was fixed, everything was ready. It was then time to wait for the coming of Goitered gazelles.

At 10:00 in the morning, more than 20 gazelles eventually appeared. They leisurely walked toward the pond from a distant hilltop. I was excited and focused my camera lens. Through the viewfinder, I saw them eat grass and play with each other, and saw pintail sand grouses fly over their heads. At this very moment, I felt as if I was on an African plain. I quickly pressed the release button of my camera.

My 31st Trip to the Kalamaili Mountain

On August 6, 2002, I entered the Kalamaili Mountain to photograph Goitered gazelles, my 31st trip to the mountain. Traveling with me was Meng Xianxin, a video cameraman. Meng is 52 years old, three years younger than me. We have worked together before, photographing in the deserts north and south of the Tianshan Mountains.

In the early morning of August 12, we arrived at our predetermined spot on the bank of a pond. Meng spent an hour collecting withered tree branches and setting up a hiding place we could use to photograph wild donkeys. Waiting for Goitered gazelles, I hid in a shrubbery, one kilometer away from Meng's place of hiding. We had decided to lie in our places from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and in order to avoid startling the wildlife and missing a good opportunity, neither of us was allowed to move from our places.The ground temperature was over 50oC, and we had to drink lots of water to keep ourselves from dehydrating. Since we were constantly drinking water, we dripped with perspiration. The smell of our sweat attracted many insects,and they crept up our faces. As we watched what was going on, we swatted the annoying insects off.Three hours had passed before I eventually saw a female Goittered gazelle and her two children walk toward me. They didn't see me and came closer and closer, 30 meters, 25 meters... Through my viewfinder, I could see their eyelashes and the veins that stood out on their legs. I pressed the release button without hesitation. When they heard the sound of my camera, the

mother ran away while the children were at a loss and gazed at the lens. Just as they were about to run away, though, I took a candid photograph.

Immersed in joy, I saw a male Goitered gazelle. I whistled and he stopped. Holding his head up high, the horned gazelle looked arrogant but lovely. I had never seen a male Goitered gazelle close up, and so I pressed the release button again and again.

Although the trip was filled with hardship, Meng and I got a great deal out of the experience.

(China Pictorial May 3, 2003)