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. As if becoming aware for the first time that she had company, the bear began walking directly toward us. We jumped in the van and eased away. She kept coming, all 145 damn-the-consequences pounds of her. We drove farther down the wash, and she kept right after us. With its carrying rack, the top of the van was nearly eight feet off the ground and almost three times as long as she was. She was three feet high at the shoulder, still weak and stumbly, and intent on having it out with this giant metal contraption, never shying to one side or even pausing when its engine growled. How could she not be intimidated in the slightest? What internal fires cook up audacity of this order? But as far as our fierce little loopy female could tell, her plan was working. She had us in full retreat. A couple hundred yards down the wash, she decided at last to let us be. Tuning into a side-canyon, she disappeared behind a thicket of caragana and Zygophyllum. Good on you, Ms. Gobi Bear. We'll add yet another to the number of mazaalai born since the Project began and now thriving as an adult. Perhaps after Odko tests the DNA samples of your fur, to be sure you haven't been counted before, we'll be able to add yet one more reproductive-age female to the population's total. Thanks to you, we just raised the number of different Gobi bears collared in the study so far from thirteen to fourteen.
Bears of the Himalayan Mountains
