Tibet wildlife tabulated; 5 new species found

The Tibet autonomous region counted 1,072 terrestrial vertebrates and discovered five new species in its most recent survey of terrestrial wildlife resources.

The announcements were made at a recent news conference of the region's forestry and grassland bureau by Wu Wei, a bureau official, People's Daily reported.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20), Tibet protected its forests, grasslands, wetlands, and desert ecosystems. The region also strengthened biodiversity protection, carried out key ecological protection and restoration projects and worked to enhance ecological security.

The region's second land-based wildlife resource survey, which took eight years to complete, logged the protection and management status of the animals, along with their numbers, distribution and habitat.

It also filled in some blanks with regard to biodiversity protection and wildlife research in China.

More than 900 professionals participated in the survey, drawing data from 260 survey sample areas.