The Gobi bear also known as the Mazaalai is a critically endangered species which, unlike other bears eats berries, fruit and small rodents. A small number of breeding adults live in the National Reservation of the Mongolian Altai and Gobi. Although related to the Himalayan bear, the Gobi bear population has developed in isolation and is classified as a different species from other bears. The Mazaalai, or ursus gobiensis is classed as being ‘critically endangered’ in the Mongolian Red book of Endangered Species and by the Zoological Society of London using International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) standards. The UN backed Convention of Migratory Species selected the Gobi bear for protection in 2017
The Trade & Development Bank of Mongolia (TDB) is currently investing in a project for providing a more conducive environment for the Mazaalai such as establishing a reservoir and protecting springs and the sources of rivers in the Great National Gobi Reservation which is home for few remaining bears. The project is being implemented by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Science and Technology as well as the Animal Research Department of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences.