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. While the open desert wasn't familiar to me yet, it was a hundred times more familiar than this abode of eerie stone voices. I was now countless twists and turns and drops of the canyon away from the van. All at once I felt beyond alone, isolated from every trace of normalcy. I tried to laugh off the strange emotions welling up inside - until the sound of a cry behind me swelled so clearly and so close that I instinctively reached for my knlfe. It was only a sudden barrage of wind currents strumming a set of peculiar undercut curves in the wall. That had to be what it was. But I was becoming less and less sure of anything. I made a hasty U-turn and hiked back down the canyon. The night was another warm one. Cori caught about thirty bats. We breakfasted on marrow soup in the morning, and the day grew baking hot by noon. Once again, we were hanging out waiting for a report from Puji. The moto-ranger was overdue. Midafternoon had arrived by the time he rolled in to tell us that the Khotul Us trap had another bear in it. We arrived there around 5 pm. The mazaalai was a female. She already had a name: Borte, Genghis Khan's first and principal wife - the empress. The Queen of queens.