Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area is a nature reserve in Gobi desert, situated in the south-western part of Mongolia at the border with China. A similar reserve in a drier part of the Gobi exists further to the east - the Great Gobi A Strictly Protected Area. The reserve was established in 1975 and declared an International Biosphere Reserve in 1991. It comprises about 9000 km of desert steppe, arid mountains, deserts and semi deserts. Temperatures can fall to -40 °C in winter and rise to +40 °C in the summer. Average snow
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