There are Only 22 Gobi Bears Left in the World and They Need Our Help!
The Gobi Bear’s scientific name is Ursus Arctos Gobiensis and its Mongolian name is Mazaalai. Unlike its brown bear cousins, the Mazaalai is the only subspecies that lives and thrives in the desert, where vegetation and water are getting scarcer every year because of extended droughts. Growth of livestock competing for food and some cases of bear poaching have not made this brown creature’s life any easier.
Today, with only 22 living bears, the Mazaalai community faces the threat of extinction.
How can you help?
1. Get to know the Gobi Bear.
- Discovered in the early 1920s in the Aj Bogdo Desert of the West Altai mountain ranges of Mongolia
- Average weight = 90 to 100 kilos
- Average body length=150 cm; Average height= 80 to 92 cm
- Habitat: Loves hilly and rocky areas near ponds, springs and oases in the Gobi Desert
- Diet: Mostly vegetarian: leaves and bajuuna (desert cabbage plant) roots and kharmag berry
- Population: 22 (8 female; 14 male)
2. Hug a Gobi Bear and tell your friends!
We all love the strong unrestrained embrace of a bear hug. Now, just in time for World Environment Day, we can extend the comforting gesture to a Gobi Bear. By Hugging a Gobi Bear and telling your friends about this rare species, you are helping raise awareness and alert potential supporters to help save the remaining Mazaalai.
Pick a Gobi Bear:
3. Give your support
The Mongolian Government launched protective measures for the Mazaalai, which include establishing a nature reserve to restore a safe habitat, opening a zoo and setting up a working group to explore ways of increasing the bears’ population. Learn more:
Save the Gobi Bear Foundation (Mazaalai Foundation)
Ministry of Environment and Green Developmentand Mazaalai Foundation
In addition, concerned organizations are conducting research on these bears. Read about their findings and find out ways to help:
International Association for Bear Research and Management
Register your activity for World Environment Day