Gobibear

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When gobi bear Mongolian, Mazaalai called a form of is brown bears called. Today it is attributed to the isabel bear ( Ursus arctos isabellinus ), which is also found in other areas of Central Asia, in northern India , Pakistan , Afghanistan and Kazakhstan . The gobi bear is found in a small part of the Gobi desert in Mongolia . It is listed as critically endangered on the national red list . The extremely small population and range make it vulnerable to threats.

features

The males of the gobi bear have a body length of 1.47–2.20 meters, the females 1.37–1.83 meters and a weight of 52–100 kg. It has a short, red-brown or sand-colored coat, often with light markings on the neck and chest. His body is narrow and long-legged, which allows him to move quickly and easily. Males have a larger head and a wider snout than their female counterparts.

distribution

Unlike other brown bears who prefer large forest areas, the gobi bear lives in the desert. The Transaltai-Gobi is located in the southwestern tip of Mongolia on the border with China and forms the westernmost branch of the Gobi Desert . The Gobibär occurs here only in three smaller mountain ranges, which are summarized as Tsagaan Bogd Uul. The main area of ​​distribution is around the oases of Baruun Tooroi and Shar Khulsny Bulag. The total area of ​​today's habitat is estimated at only 10,000 to 15,000 km².

Diet and Lifestyle

Like all brown bears, the gobi bear lives as a loner, except during the mating season. The animals are true to their location and roam as loners in search of food (berries, roots and plants such as wild rhubarb , bajunna as well as insects, lizards, rodents, etc.) and water, which they defend against other conspecifics.

Systematics

The taxonomic status of the gobi bear has long been unclear. In 1992 it was described by Sokolov and Orlov as a subspecies Ursus arctos gobiensis and identified in 2007 as a relict population of the isabel bear ( Ursus arctos isabellinus ) after genetic studies .

Threat and protection

Like all bear species in Asia, this brown bear population is threatened. The latest population estimates for the gobi bear assume a relatively stable population of 25 to 40 specimens, the exact population is not known. Reasons for its rarity include uncontrolled hunting to obtain bear bile for traditional Chinese medicine and trophies, as well as accidents and the dismemberment of the animal's habitat by human settlements and agricultural land.

Various reserves are designated to protect the animals, but these are not yet sufficient due to the lack of scientific data. Therefore, various scientific studies are being carried out in the countries where the gobibear occurs in order to obtain further information on protective measures. The State Association for Bird Protection in Bavaria supports a project to protect the gobi bear in Mongolia. A protection and information center will be set up there. The IUCN does not list the Gobi bear as a subspecies, but the brown bear population in Mongolia is listed in Appendix 1 of the Washington Convention on Endangered Species.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Garshelis, DL (2009). Family Ursidae (Bears) . (448-497). In: Wilson, DE, Mittermeier, RA, (Eds.). Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 1: Carnivores. Lynx Edicions, 2009. ISBN 978-84-96553-49-1
  2. ↑ http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTMONGOLIA/Resources/Conservation_AP_for_MongMammals_ENG.pdf Status 2011.
  3. ↑ Balint, PJ and JA Steinberg. 2003. Conservation Case Study of the Gobi Bear. In D. Badarch, RA Zilinskas, and PJ Balint, editors. Mongolia Today: Science, Culture, Environment, and Development. London, UK: RoutledgeCurzon, pp. 238-257. PDF ( Memento of the original from December 22, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / classweb.gmu.edu
  4. ↑ Gary J. Galbreath, Colin P. Groves, Lisette P. Waits: Genetic resolution of composition and phylogenetic placement of the isabelline bear. Ursus Apr 2007: Vol. 18, Issue 1, pg (s) 129-131. online abstract
  5. ↑ http://www.gobibaer.de/4579.html Status 2011.
  6. ↑ https://www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php