LHASA -- Workers begun dismantling pasture fences in the Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in Tibet autonomous region Friday to protect Tibetan antelopes and other rare animals in the reserve.

When the job is done, about 700 hectares of meadow in Nyima county, Nagqu city, will be made accessible to the animals.

"The fences were in the core area of the reserve, an important habitat for Tibetan antelopes. Antelopes used to get injured on the fences," said Dechen Lhundrup, deputy head of the county forestry police.

"Thanks to the relocation of local residents to Lhasa, the fences are no longer needed," he said.

At an average altitude of more than 5,000 meters, the reserve covers 298,000 square km and is home to dozens of protected species. It was established in 1993 as a regional nature reserve and was upgraded to a national reserve in 2000.

The estimated population of Tibetan antelopes in the reserve exceeds 150,000, up from 50,000 two decades ago. Wild yaks now number over 10,000, up from 7,000, and there are more than 50,000 Tibetan wild donkeys, up from 30,000.