Gobi Wildlife
ICHK-Hong Lok Yuen, Russell Pilard, Non-Fiction: Group 2
There are around 45 species of animals in the Gobi Desert. There are Snow Leopards to Gobi Bears
to the Khulan and the Przewalski Horse.
Climate
The Gobi Desert has a harsh climate. In the daytime, it is scorching hot and at night, it is freezing
at night so the animals have to be adapted to the climate. Most of the Gobi Desert is a rocky
terrain. The climate in the Gobi Desert can be harsh with temperatures reaching as cold as minus
forty degrees and as hot as fifty degrees celsius!
Animals
There are Przewalski horses, Snow Leopards, Gobi Bears, Khulan and Fennec Foxes. There are also
Jerboas and Kangaroo Rats. They are rodents.
The Przewalski horses’ lifespan is around 20-25 years and there is one foal every year.
They were almost extinct in the 1990s but luckily they escaped extinction thanks to the
conservationists. It is around 300cm long and weighs 350kg.
The Gobi Bear is one of the rarest bears in the world. They only live in the Gobi Desert hence their
name. They weigh up to 100kg and are 150cm. It is becoming rare because of the change of climate.
The Jerboa is the smallest animal of the Gobi Desert. There are more than 10 species of Jerboa.
They are around 35cm and they weigh 140g.
The Snow Leopard is one of the rarest wild cats in the world. It is about 230 cm. The female
weighs 45kg max but the male weighs 55kg max.
The Khulan (aka Wild Ass) can run up to 65 km/h and lives in a herd of 500. It weighs 260 kg
and is 2.5m long. It is an ancestor of the donkey.
The Asiatic Ibex lives for about 17 years. They weigh 130kg and they are 165cm long.
The Bactrian camel can be tamed. It can weigh an astounding 1000 kg and can be 3m long.
The Gray Wolf might be the fiercest animal in the Gobi Desert. It is 130cm long and weighs
45 to 80kg.
The Gold Eagle is the fiercest animal in the Gobi Desert but in the air. It is 102 cm long and 430kg.
The Musk Oxen weighs around 280kg and is 210 cm long.
The Plate-Tailed Gecko can dig holes up to 3 feet deep. It has two clutches of eggs each year.
The Marbled Polecat weighs 715g and it is around 65 cm.
The Goitered Gazelle can travel 30 km in winter but can only travel 3 km in summer. They
weigh 33-40 kg and are 160 cm long
This was a brief summary of interesting facts about animals of the Gobi Desert. They are
mostly nocturnal and some are predators while most are herbivores. In my opinion, the three most
dangerous animals in the Gobi Desert are the Gold Eagle, the Snow Leopard and the Gray Wolf.
