Gobi bear

"Mazaalai" redirects here. For the Mongolian satellite named after the bear, see Mazaalai (satellite).

Gobi bear
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Ursidae
Genus:	Ursus
Species:	U. arctos
Subspecies:	U. a. gobiensis
Trinomial name
Ursus arctos gobiensis Sokolov & Orlov,1920

The Gobi bear (Ursus arctos gobiensis), known in Mongolian as the Mazaalai (Мазаалай), is a subspecies of the brown bear (Ursus arctos) that is found in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. It is listed as critically endangered by the Mongolian Redbook of Endangered Species and by IUCN standards. Recent surveys documented just 51 bears in 2022, a slight increase from an estimate of 40 bears in 2017. Gobi bears are separated by enough distance from other brown bear populations to achieve reproductive isolation. In 1959, hunting of the animal was prohibited in order to preserve the dying subspecies.

Behaviour and ecology

Gobi bears mainly eat roots, berries, and other plants, sometimes rodents; there is no evidence that they prey on large mammals. Small compared to other brown bear subspecies, adult males weigh about 96.0–138.0 kg (211.6–304.2 lb) and females about 51.0–78.0 kg (112.4–172.0 lb). Gobi bears are the only bears that have evolved and adapted to living in such extreme hot desert climates.

Genetic diversity

Gobi bears have a very low genetic diversity, among the lowest ever observed in any subspecies of brown bear. Levels of genetic diversity similar to the Gobi bears have been reported only in a small population of brown bears in the Pyrenees Mountains on the border of Spain and France. The low genetic diversity is the result of Gobi bears having a highly skewed sex ratio of males to females. There are about 21 males to 8 females. This the main cause of such low reproduction and population. In addition, research has shown there is a low number of alleles per locus in their DNA. This means that Gobi bear DNA is fragile and therefore affects their reproduction.

Research

Historically, based on morphology, the Gobi brown bear has, sometimes, been classified as being in same subspecies as the Tibetan blue bear. However, recent phylogenetic analysis has shown that although the Gobi bear and Himalayan brown bear have a shared ancestry, both bear populations are genetically isolated.

As of 2022, there are a reported 51 bears in the wild. The Gobi bears used to populate about 23,619 kilometers of land in Southwestern Mongolia. This number has decreased by nearly sixty percent due to the scarcity of food and water. They eat berries, vegetation, insects and occasionally rodents.

Climate change and mining are the two main reasons that Gobi bears are on the brink of extinction. As deserts start to get hotter and drier, it is difficult for the bears to find resources such as water and food. Also, despite human benefits, mining is taking precious land and adding pollutants into their environment.

See also

• Bear

References

Sources

• Chadwick, Douglas (April 2014). "Can World's Rarest Bear Be Saved?". National Geographic. Joe Riis (photography).
• "Gobi bear (Ursus arctos gobiensis)". Wildscreen Arkive. Archived from the original on 2008-09-19. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
• McCarthy, Thomas M.; Waits, Lisette P.; Mijiddorj, B. (2009). "Status of the Gobi bear in Mongolia as determined by noninvasive genetic methods". Ursus. 20 (1): 30–38. doi:10.2192/07GR013R.1. S2CID 86288105.
• Tumendemberel, Odbayar (2020). "Evolutionary history, demographics, and conservation of brown bears (Ursus arctos): filling the knowledge gap in Central Asia". Ph.D. dissertation. University of South-Eastern Norway.

Further reading

• Chadwick, Douglas (2017). Tracking Gobi Grizzlies: Surviving Beyond the Back of Beyond. Joe Riis and Douglas Chadwick (photography). Ventura, Cal.: Patagonia Books. ISBN 9781938340628. OCLC 984164885. Preview.