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 far as anyone yet knows, mazaalai don't own unique adaptations for desert environments. They are basically built like other grizzlies. Starving camels will turn to chew on the flesh, skin, and bones of carcasses. Mazaalai can do that. But they can't subsist on the toughest, saltiest, prickliest vegetation around, and they can't drink fifteen to thirty gallons of water in a quarter of an hour, walk away, and keep going without another sip for weeks. Camels, of course, are expert at both. They digest the rough forage by fermenting it in vat-like, multichambered stomachs with the help of microbes. Troops of bacteria, protozoans, and fungi combine to transform raw plant cellulose and lignin ( woody fibers ) into usable starches and sugars, proteins, fatty acids, vitamins, and other essential nutrients.
The gazelles, argali, and ibex possess the same kind of ruminant guts loaded with helpful microbes. Like desert bighorns in North America, the argali sheep are able to tolerate significant dehydration of their body tissues. Gerbils and most of the other Gobi Desert rodents hardly need to drink at all. They generate water from the way they metabolize seeds, buds, and other food, and they excrete very little liquid in their concentrated urine.
Bears of the Himalayan Mountains
