Mazaalai, or the Gobi bear, is named as a “Mongolian National Pride Animal” by the initiative of President of Mongolia U.Khurelsukh.

The population of Gobi bears has been increasing in recent years, and it is believed that it is necessary to implement further policies on population increase and protection.

Zoologists said that these bears do not live in pairs or in packs, and it is very rare they are seen in pairs. There is a method of determining the number of the animal by examining feces, and traces they left in nature. According to the latest census, there were 52 Gobi bears in Mongolia.

The Gobi bear (Ursus arctos gobiensis), known in Mongolian as the Mazaalai, is a subspecies of the brown bear (Ursus arctos) that is found in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. It is listed as critically endangered by the Mongolian Redbook of Endangered Species, as the exceptionally small population size makes this subspecies very vulnerable.