by Sydney Chamberlain

Created on: August 09, 2011   Last Updated: August 15, 2011

Facts about the Gobi Bear:

Size: Gobi Bears range about 170-260 pounds which is relatively small compared to other types of bears.

Color: Gobi Bears have mainly light brown bodies with darker hair on their head, belly, and legs. 

Location: Gobi Bears reside in southwest Mongolia. Recently, a 2011 bear watcher group spotted a Gobi Bear in the wild. They are strictly protected because they are endangered. 

Population: There are less than 30 Gobi Bears in the wild, and 0 in captivity. 

Threats: The Gobi Bears are threatened due to trophy hunting, loss of habitat due to climate change (global warming), harvesting and an increase in illegal mining. Poaching is also a threat to the Gobi bears.

Poaching: Poachers use leg traps, water traps, and many other traps to trap wildlife. Poaching is illegal but still goes on in many places. The point of poaching is to catch wildlife for their fur, teeth (in some cases), bones (in some cases), and skulls. This is another reason of why the fur industry has dropped by 24%+ over the passed 6 months; more people are finding out how the fur is gathered. Their teeth and bones are commonly used for jewelry, decor, etc. and their skulls are normally sold for wall-mounts. 

How to help: Avoid fur and help put poachers out of business and save animals from the cruel fur trade! Don't buy bear skulls or any type of real animal skulls. Avoid buying from any clothing line that sells fur, you're still giving them money either way! Spread the word about endangered species like the Gobi bear and tell your friends and family how they can help! Donate to conservation organizations such as Defenders of Wildlife International. Educate the public about poaching and how it threatens many species of animals; including the very endangered Gobi Bear. Many organizations will give you free posters, stickers, letters, magnets, etc. to help spread the word about the cruelty behind the fur industry and poaching. 

Due to low population and strict laws, very little is actually known about the Gobi Bear. It is hoped that since a 1/3 of the Gobi population is female, they can manage to breed to increase their populations. It's very unlikely though that their populations will rise over 1,000 within the next 10 years. But until the Gobi bear population is over 4500, they will not be removed from the endangered species list.  

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