There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
Tracking Gobi Grizzlies.
Ursus arctos, the brown, or grizzly bear, first arose in Central Asia between half a million and a million years ago. Some genetic evidence suggests that mazaalai are closely related to those ancestral Ursus arctos and may in fact be the oldest continuous line of grizzlies among the subspecies present today.
Some taxonomists have classified Gobi bears together with the Tibetan bear, also known as the blue bear, Ursus arctos pruinosus. The widespread range of the Himalayan brown bear, Ursus arctos isabellinus, includes north-western China's Tian Shan Mountains, which top out at 24,406 feet. Since eastern extensions of the Tian Shan Range approach Mongolia's Gobi-Altai Mountains where the last Gobi bears are found, this has led other experts to suspect that mazaalai might be a relict enclave of isabellinus.
Bears of the Himalayan Mountains
