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Post by Gorilla king on Aug 6, 2021 9:39:03 GMT -5
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 the Zoological Society of London.[1] The population included only around 30 adults in 2009,[2] and is 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.[3]
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).[3]
Genetic diversity
Gobi bears have very little genetic diversity,[2] 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.
Research
Based on morphology, the Gobi brown bear has sometimes historically been classified as being of the same subspecies as the Tibetan blue bear. However, recent phylogenetic analysis has shown the Gobi bear to instead represent a relict population of the Himalayan brown bear.[4] 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. This number has decreased by nearly sixty percent due to the scarcity of food and water among the large creatures who feast on plants, fruits, and lizards. Climate change and mining are the two main threats to gobi bears and their extinction. If deserts start to get hotter and drier, it will make it difficult for the bears to find resources such as water and food. Mining is also just as important as it is causing damage to their environments. [5]
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gobi_bear
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Post by Gorilla king on Aug 6, 2021 15:35:19 GMT -5
GOBI BEAR PROJECT
SUMMARY
“They’re the only bear of any kind that dwells exclusively in desert habitat. By adaptation and learning, they’ve found a way to live in one of the most extreme environments on the planet.” – Dr. Harry Reynolds
The purpose of the Gobi Bear Project is to assist the Government of Mongolia in its commitment to protected area management, and to promote conservation and protection of a Critically Endangered species, the Gobi bear (Ursus arctos gobiensis). Established in 2005, the Gobi Bear Project team is comprised of over a dozen dedicated members, the majority of whom are Mongolian nationals and know the study area intimately.
Over the past decade, we have worked hard to develop our understanding of this important animal. We have been able to fit 20 bears with GPS tracking collars so we can better understand their behaviour and movements through this incredible landscape, and significant work has been done to develop our knowledge of their genetics, reproductive performance, survival rates and more.
With less than 40 Gobi bears remaining, substantial work is still needed to carry out the complex assessment of factors which may limit Gobi bears, and to address on-site conservation, augmentation and research by national and international specialists. Further information about our work is provided below, where valued donations to support our vital efforts can be made as well.
ABOUT THE GOBI
The Gobi is a bleak place; vast, harsh and silent. Colossal sand dunes, ice-filled canyons, minimal rainfall, extreme winds and a temperature range between 46°C in summer to ‐40°C in winter means that any survival across this 1.295 million km² area comes as a surprise. Yet despite these severe conditions, several species have managed to thrive here. The Gobi is home to camels, gazelles, polecats, wild ass, ibex, musk oxen, snow leopards, occasional wolves, and of course, a limited number of Gobi bears.
Human activity in the Gobi has certainly affected both wildlife population numbers and how they can use the landscape, with certain areas frequently traversed by livestock. Once expansive grasslands in Mongolia have been degraded by overgrazing, putting further pressure on already challenged native animals. The biggest threats, however, currently stem from large-scale mining operations for coal, copper and gold throughout the region. Abundant mineral deposits continue to attract international mining corporations, thereby putting the native inhabitants under even greater stress.
WHERE DO THE BEARS LIVE?
Gobi bears persist as a unique ecotype in the Gobi Desert of south-western Mongolia. Also known as ‘Mazaalai’ and regarded as a national treasure by Mongolians, Gobi bears occupy three main areas, or oasis complexes, within a region designated the ‘Great Gobi Strictly Protected Area (GGSPA) – Zone A’. This protected area was established in 1976 to improve protections for the local flora and fauna, covering a total area of about 46,369 km2 and making it one of the largest reserves worldwide.
Gobi bears primarily live around three oases within the GGPSA, located around Atas Bogd Mountain, Shar Khuls Oasis, and Tsagaan Bogd Mountain. Each oasis complex is comprised of seven or more springs, separated by about 70‐100 km of pure baked pancake flat gravel from the adjacent complex. The size and volume of the watering holes vary – anything from a dry gulch that might see water one day a year to a water reserve the size of a typical garden pond – and perhaps a scattering of trees or nearby tall grasses. Like most other bear species, male Gobi bears tend to travel much greater distances and have larger home ranges (~2400 km²), typically travelling large distances between oases to try and mate with multiple female bears.
Due to the abundant minerals in the area, the GGSPA is frequently targeted by illegal hunters and miners under the cover of darkness in the hope of making undetected finds. Large expanses of uninhabitable land mean these people are often confined to searching around the same oases used by the bears, increasing the possibility for conflict. Local rangers work hard to patrol the GGSPA and prevent this from occurring, but limited resources over such a vast area means this is still not 100% effective.
HOW DO THE BEARS SURVIVE?
Gobi bears are superbly adapted to low food availability and harsh environment of the Gobi Desert. We’ve observed 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. Small amounts of animal matter (mostly rodents and reported to be approximately 1% of total intake) are also consumed. It is well known that brown bear subspecies undergo a period of high food intake (hyperfagia) during late summer and fall in order to build the fat reserves necessary for hibernation and production of offspring while in winter dens.
Rangers of the GGSPA reported that the area experienced a 14 year drought from 1993‐2007, in which annual precipitation declined from approximately 100 mm to 50 mm. Because Gobi bears are heavily dependent upon vegetation that requires precipitation for growth and fruiting, the drought may have affected body condition and reproductive success of the bears during this period
www.gobibearproject.org/
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Post by Gorilla king on Aug 6, 2021 15:36:53 GMT -5
From the same source above:
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Post by Gorilla king on Aug 6, 2021 15:41:43 GMT -5
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Post by Gorilla king on Aug 6, 2021 15:44:36 GMT -5
VITAL GROUND FOUNDATIONOur work in Mongolia
The Gobi Desert sprawls across portions of Mongolia and China, with a small population of grizzly bears surviving in a northern mountainous portion of the arid region.
Vital Ground Partner Projects in the Gobi:
• Supplemental food program
• Radio collaring and GPS monitoring
• Natural resources scholarship program for local students
Grizzlies in the Gobi:
• Gobi Desert covers 500,000 square miles in China and Mongolia
• Grizzly population confined to small northern region
• 25-40 bears live around 3 spring-fed oasis areas
Gobi Grizzly Conservation
• Conservation Partner: Gobi Bear Fund
• Partnership Type: Scientific Research
• Vital Ground since: 2012
In one of the harshest climates on Earth, grizzlies are clinging to life. In the Mongolian portion of the Gobi Desert, low rugged mountains create enough shelter to support a remnant population of Ursus arctos, the same bear we know as the grizzly or brown bear in North America. In the Gobi, just 2-4 inches of precipitation fall per year and temperatures swing from minus-35 Fahrenheit in winter to 115 in summer. The Gobi grizzlies are undersized by North American standards, surviving on a diet of plants and occasional rodents. 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.
Since 2011, Vital Ground has supported the Gobi Bear Fund, which supports research efforts and a limited program of food supplementation for these embattled bears. Spearheading our Gobi Bear Initiative is biologist and Vital Ground trustee Douglas Chadwick, whose new book Tracking Gobi Grizzlies documents first-hand the effort to research and recover these bears. Most recently, Vital Ground support allowed the Gobi Bear Project Team to capture and collar two middle-aged female bears, whose GPS data will provide valuable habitat selection information that could help future conservation initiatives.
www.vitalground.org/conservation-partners/gobi-grizzlies-mongolia/
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Post by Gorilla king on Aug 6, 2021 15:49:29 GMT -5
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Post by Gorilla king on Aug 6, 2021 15:58:11 GMT -5
GEORGE SCHALLER (LEFT) COLLARING A GOBI BEAR
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Post by Gorilla king on Aug 6, 2021 16:01:00 GMT -5
Gobi bear abundance and inter-oases movements, Gobi Desert, Mongolia
Abstract and Figures
Brown bears (Ursus arctos) inhabit much of the northern hemisphere, including portions of North America, Europe, and Asia. Whereas northern populations generally are healthy, their distribution becomes fragmented and conservation status more tenuous in their southern range. Many fragmented populations across southern Asia are poorly understood, and abundance and distribution data are minimal. One such population contains the Gobi bear, a brown bear surviving in the Great Gobi Strictly Protected Area of southwestern Mongolia. The number of bears in this area was assumed to be low, without data-based abundance estimates. Whereas bears frequent 3 oases complexes, it was not known to what extent bears moved or bred among these complexes, which span approximately 300 km. As part of a larger science-based conservation effort, we conducted a DNA-based mark–recapture population survey in 2009 to estimate abundance, inter-oases movements of individual bears and geneflow, and genetic variability. We placed barb-wire hair-collection sites surrounding 13 supplemental feeders at most water sources within the 3 oases complexes: Atas–Inges, Shar Khuls, and Tsagaan Bogd. During 5 sessions throughout spring and summer, we collected 600 bear hair samples and genotyped 205 samples at 12 variable microsatellite loci (from 24). We identified 21 individual bears (14 M and 7 F) 48 times and developed a mark–recapture population estimate of 22 bears (95% CI 5 21–29). Estimates of mean detection probability were 0.27 (SE 5 0.09, CI 5 0.13–0.49) and 0.51 (SE 5 0.063, CI 5 0.39–0.64) for female and male bears, respectively. One female and 4 males were sampled at 2 oases complexes and 3 males were sampled at all 3 oases complexes. The genetic variability (heterozygosity) was low compared with other brown bear populations. We suggest this population is isolated from other bear populations and is likely critically endangered with fewer than 40 individuals
www.researchgate.net/publication/288855535_Gobi_bear_abundance_and_inter-oases_movements_Gobi_Desert_Mongolia
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Post by Gorilla king on Aug 6, 2021 16:02:59 GMT -5
Review of Gobi bear research (Ursus arctos gobiensis, Sokolov and Orlov, 1992)
Abstract and Figures
Gobi bear (Ursus arctos gobiensis, Sokolov, Orlov, 1992) is endangered and occurs only in isolated populations in the Southwestern part of Mongolia. It is listed in the Red book of Mongolia (1987, 1997, 2013) and is registered in Annex I of the Convention on international trade in endangered species (CITES, 1991). Hunting for the Gobi bear is prohibited by law in 1953, nowadays it is protected in the Great Gobi reserve. The article provides generalized information about habitat, behavior, diet, and mortality of Gobi bear. The research also touched upon the peculiarities of its historical distribution in Gobi (and the subsequent loss of habitat), movement, size, and taxonomic status. Previous analysis of mitochondrial DNA (Galbreath et al., 2007; McCarthy et al., 2009) showed that Gobi bear is similar to the subspecies Ursus arctos Preliminary analysis based on nuclear microsatellite markers indicates that Gobi bear is actually can be a separate subspecies of Ursus arctos gobiensis (Tumendemberel et al., 2015а). The analysis of 2835 places of encounters of five bears using GPS for the period from 2005 to 2009 has allowed estimating that within the Great Gobi reserve for the habitat of the Gobi bear suitable territory is about 23619.18 km². The current habitat is likely reduced by 60% from historical range. Based on the telemetry data and the results of genetic analyses, the current distribution of bears in the Gobi desert was estimated. Adult females have moved around an area of about 514 km² within 1009–1532 m above sea level around Shar Khuls oasis. Adult males moved through the area about 2465–2485 km²; altitudinal limits of 1122–1492 m. International Team Project on Gobi bear, together with researchers from the Gobi bear Fund, Institute of General and Experimental biology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences and the administration of the Great Gobi reserve in 2005 have used camera traps to estimate population size of Gobi bear. It is established that on the reserve territory at least 18 bears were including 7 males, 4 females, and 2 calves (Amgalan et al., 2005). Using genetic analyses (DNA microsatellites) from more than 1000 hair samples taken near 14 springs, it was calculated that during 2008–2009, these springs were visited by 22–31 individuals of Gobi bear, of which at least 14 males and 8 females (Tumendemberel et al., 2015).
www.researchgate.net/publication/306086606_Review_of_Gobi_bear_research_Ursus_arctos_gobiensis_Sokolov_and_Orlov_1992
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Post by Gorilla king on Nov 2, 2021 15:34:11 GMT -5
GOBI BEAR
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Post by Gorilla king on Feb 14, 2022 11:12:38 GMT -5
Ecto- and endoparasites of brown bears living in an extreme environment, the Gobi Desert, Mongolia
Abstract and Figures
We report the first survey of ecto- and endoparasites of brown bears (Ursus arctos gobiensis) in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia. We collected 40 ticks from 1 female (21 yr old, 48 kg) and 2 males (10 yr, 155 kg; 5 yr, 108 kg) captured for research purposes in May 2018. We found Dermacentor nutalli (n = 35 ticks, 87.5%) on both male bears and Hyalomma asiaticum (n = 5 ticks, 12.5%) on one male. The female had no ticks. We also collected a fecal sample from each captured bear, and an additional 15 fecal samples in the field. Two (11%) of the 18 fecal samples collected contained eggs of Strongyloides spp.; 1 fecal (10-yr-old male) sample had 2 eggs, and 1 fecal sample collected in the field contained 1 egg. This is the first documentation of parasites of wild bears in Mongolia.
www.researchgate.net/publication/357749888_Ecto-_and_endoparasites_of_brown_bears_living_in_an_extreme_environment_the_Gobi_Desert_Mongolia
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Post by Gorilla king on Jan 23, 2023 21:59:42 GMT -5
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Post by brobear on Jan 23, 2023 23:34:12 GMT -5
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Post by oldcyansilverback on Jan 24, 2023 2:27:07 GMT -5
Reply 11. It looks like the gobi bear is smaller than even the barren ground grizzly. It’s environment probably makes its teeth worn down.
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Post by Gorilla king on May 9, 2023 17:02:54 GMT -5
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Post by Gorilla king on Feb 21, 2024 19:59:32 GMT -5
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Post by oldcyansilverback on Feb 22, 2024 2:21:34 GMT -5
It seems the Gobi bear is more related to the Himalayan brown bear (red bear) according to the op.
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Post by oldcyansilverback on Mar 2, 2024 8:03:41 GMT -5
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Post by oldcyansilverback on Mar 2, 2024 8:09:09 GMT -5
Gobi bear abundance and inter-oases movements, Gobi Desert, Mongolia ." We suggest this population is isolated from other bear populations and is likely critically endangered with fewer than 40 individuals." www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... t_Mongolia adult males weigh 96 – 138 kg (212 - 304 lb Security administration and researchers of Govi's Ikh Darkhan Penitentiary Department A are working together to put space alarm collars on Mazaalai bears and conduct disease surveillance research. In this context, the team of the "Gobi bear" project caught a mazaalai weighing 145 kg yesterday /05/04/2023 and put on a collar with a space alarm. imedee.mn/n/49914  carnivora.net/pantanal-jaguar-v-gobi-bear-t14288-s15.html#p281120 |
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Post by Gorilla king on Mar 2, 2024 9:34:11 GMT -5
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