In late 2012 Mongolia's Ministry of Environment and Green Development designated 2013 as The Year of Protecting the Gobi Bear, a critically endangered native species whose extant population was most recently numbered at 22.
How many Gobi bears are left 2021?
Research by the Gobi Bear Project indicates that there are currently less than 40 individuals left in the wild.
Are Gobi bears going extinct?
Status: Critically endangered . Listed under CITES Appendix I and protected as “Very Rare” under part 7.1 of the Mongolian Law on Fauna (2000) and in the Mongolian Red Book (1987 & 1997). Hunting of bears is prohibited in Mongolia.
Are Gobi bears protected?
Mongolia, which banned Gobi bear hunting in 1953, has now declared 2013 the “Year of Protecting the Gobi Bear.” The Chinese media agency Xinhua reports that the Ministry of Environment and Green Development of Mongolia has also formed a working group to explore ways of boosting the bears' population, and will establish ...
How many Gobi bears are left?
There are fewer than 40 Gobi bears left in the wild. The Gobi bears used to populate about 23,619 kilometers of land in Southwestern Mongolia.
Are there snakes in the Gobi Desert?
The central Asian pit viper (Gloydius intermedius) is endemic to the Gobi Desert, meaning this snake is found nowhere else in the world. It's a medium-sized pit viper, reaching about 31 feet. ... Most of what is known about the central Asian pit viper is conjectured from its relative, the more widespread G. blomhoffi.
What is rarest bear?
In the southern third of Mongolia in the Gobi Desert lives the rarest bear in the world — the Gobi bear , also referred to as the Gobi grizzly, or called by its name in Mongolian, Mazaalai.
How can I help Gobi bears?
Scientists continue to study the beleaguered bears, using the radio collars to map the animals' habitat use. The Gobi Bear Project, which relies on public donations to fund its work, is also using hair traps at feeder sites to collect samples, allowing DNA analysis.
Why are Gobi bears going extinct?
Mongolia prohibited Gobi Bear hunting as far back as 1953, but more recently environmental degradation of its habitat has been cited as a major reason for its decline.
What does Gobi bear eat?
(1993) that Gobi bears primarily eat the rhizomes of wild rhubarb (Rheum nanum) , berries, including nitre bush (Nitraria spp.), grass shoots (e.g., Phragmites), wild onion (Allium spp.), Ephedra, and other plants supported by desert springs.
Why are Gobi bears so rare?
Why is the Gobi bear endangered? Because there are so few of them, Gobi bears are in great danger of becoming extinct . Anything that threatens their survival can have a huge impact, such as: Climate change: In the future, the Gobi desert could get even hotter and drier than it is now.
Do Gobi bears live in Mongolia?
Only a few dozen grizzly bears with bright yellow coats live in the forbidding Gobi Desert in Mongolia . In a new book, wildlife biologist Doug Chadwick writes about how these unique animals survive and what can be done to better protect them.
Are there bears in Africa?
Are there any bears in Africa? At the moment, there are no bear species in Africa . There was a time when the brown bear roamed the Atlas mountains, where they were once native. ... Much of the population became extinct in Africa, alongside declining populations in Europe.
What is a Gobi animal?
Some of the iconic species living in the Gobi Desert are the snow leopard , black-tailed gazelle, Gobi viper, jerboa, Gobi bear, Gobi ibex, wild Bactrian camel, and others. The animals inhabiting the Gobi Desert are well-adapted to survive in the extreme desert climate.
How many bears are in Mongolia?
Recent tracking and hair sampling studies indicate a population of just 25-40 bears , who cluster around three oasis complexes where small springs anchor plant and animal life.
What predators are in Mongolia?
Mountainous areas in the northern part of this ecoregion support populations of three of Central Asia's large predators: snow leopards (Panthera uncia), brown bears (Ursus arctos), and wolves (Canis lupus). The ibex (Capra sibirica) and the Gobi argali (Ovis ammon) also occur here.
