Shaking down the drivers

Li Xueping, 46, another road maintenance worker who has been working there for 30 years, told the Global Times that sometimes local herdsmen attempt to blackmail careless drivers.

In August, he and his colleague were asked to handle an accident caused by a drowsy and distracted driver who hit 10 yaks due to driving too fast.

"The driver was caught by the herdsmen and they demanded 140,000 yuan ($20,980) in compensation," Li said.

According to Li, compensation for a dead yak is about 7,000 yuan, while a Tibetan sheep is around 1,000 yuan, both much higher than a normal sale price. The driver reportedly paid about 10,000 yuan.

"If you hit any herdsman's livestock and are caught, you are dead meat," Li added. "Some herdsmen intentionally drive their livestock on the road and make a fortune off those poor drivers."

He said even if drivers drive less than 80 kph, they will still hit the animals.

No herdsman reached by the field study group admitted intentionally killing their stock with unwitting drivers.

Halfway measures

Dai Qiang, a former researcher with the Chengdu Institute of Biology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who investigated the road construction effect on wildlife habitats in Ruo'ergai in 2006, proposed some protective measures. It includes setting up warning signs and building animal channels and fences.

Though the local government listened and accepted their proposal, Li Hua, deputy director of the Wetland Protection Bureau, Ruo'ergai county, admitted that the situation is out of control.

"Even though we have some warning signs, they are not working. Drivers don't pay attention to them, and, of course, neither do the animals. The animals don't know how to take a detour to cross the road," he told the Global Times.

Li said additional traffic police will be assigned to look for speeding drivers during various periods in the near future.