Gobi bear in the wild. Gobi bear The Gobi bear, "Ursus arctos gobiensis" (known in Mongolian as the ""/), 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 Mongolian Redbook of Endangered Species and by the Zoological Society of London using IUCN standards. The UN backed Convention of Migratory Species selected Gobi bear for protection in 2017. The population included only around 30 adults in 2009 and is separated by enough distance from other brown bear populations to achieve reproductive isolation. Break camp about 9.30 a.m.
Gobi bear the Atis Mountains. We cross a large open plain and then enter a steep-sided, black, shale-strewn valley. Just before we entered the valley we discovered the footprints of the extremely rare Gobi Bear (ursus gobiensis) [there are presumed to be approximately only thirty-two in the world and there is continuing debate among scientists over whether they are a true species or a sub-species]. 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 and females about . Gobi