The protection of nature
Mongolia currently has 99 protected areas covering 17.4% of its territory. They are divided into four levels of protection: strictly protected areas, national parks, nature reserves and natural monuments.
Strictly protected areas.
Established in 1965, Mongolia's strictly protected areas aim to protect and conserve areas with fragile ecosystems and unique biological or historical features. In principle, a permit is required to access them. There are currently 18 of them, including four in the Gobi Desert and one around Lake Uuv. Bogd Khan Uul, one of the four mountains surrounding Ulaanbaatar, could be the very first protected site in the world, almost a century before the creation of the famous Yellowstone National Park in the United States. As early as 1783, the then ruling Qing Dynasty made it a protected site both for religious areas and for its beauty. Revered since at least the 13th century, the mountain was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1996.National parks.
There are 21 of them spread throughout the country. Intended to protect regions and their ecosystems, tourism is honored and their entry is paying. Among the most famous, the national park of Gorkhi-Terelj, only fifty kilometers from Ulaanbaatar, impresses by its rock formations, its expanses of steppe, but also its rivers and forests. Nature lovers will find their happiness in the national parks of Mongolia. One of the most beautiful lakes of the country, commonly called White Lake, is located in the Khorgo Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur National Park. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, it is the refuge of a rich fauna and flora. Its counterpart, the famous Khovsgol Lake, the most touristic lake in Mongolia, gave its name to the national park which shelters it. The Tsaatan people have settled on its shores, covered with taiga.The Khustai Nuruu nature reserve, which became a national park following the reintroduction of Przewalski's horse in the early 2000s, contains more than 40 species of mammals and 217 species of birds.
To discover picturesque landscapes, one can visit the Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park, its desert steppe and sand dunes, or the Altai Tavan Bogd National Park and its glaciers where the rare snow leopard lives. This park also owes its fame to the petroglyphs of the Mongolian Altai, rock paintings and funerary monuments dated from 11,000 to 6,000 BC and classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 2011
.Nature reserves and natural monuments.
Smaller than national parks, nature reserves aim to protect a particular fauna or flora. Mongolia has 19 of them, the most notable being Sharga Mankhanii Tal, created in 1994 to protect the natural habitat of the saiga antelope, and Ugtam Uul, which includes two sacred mountains and the ruins of ancient monasteries. Six historical and natural monuments have been protected by the Mongolian authorities since 1965. Among them, the petrified forest of Suikhent, which was formed during the Jurassic period in the Dornogoviaimag, is worth a visit. Another site of interest is the region of the eight lakes of Khuisyn Naiman Nuur, in the province of Ovörkhangaï, which offers volcanic landscapes and an abundant wildlife.A rich fauna
Fish and fishing.
Mongolia has 75 species of fish, 8 species of amphibians and many invertebrates. The 4,000 rivers that crisscross the country and feed the thirty lakes that are there, are good places to practice fishing. The most common species are similar to those found in Europe, but they are more abundant and the fish are generally larger. It is possible to fish for lenok trout, a species of wild salmon, or Siberian perch and grayling. In the Selenge, you can catch omul, the small fish known to populate the waters of Lake Baikal, in Russia. For the thrill-seeking angler, there is the taimen, also known as Siberian salmon. This freshwater fish is the biggest of the salmonids: it can reach 1.50 meters long and weigh up to 30 kg! It is mainly fished with a fly, and often with barbless hooks in order not to injure the animal and to preserve the species, whose reproduction is slow.Reptiles.
Mongolia is home to 22 different species of reptiles. Snakes, lizards and geckos have adapted well to the climate of the steppes and the desert, and their populations are stable.Birds.
Mongolia's bird life is rich: 436 species of birds have been recorded in the country, and there are 70 important birding areas. Mongolia is located on the migratory routes; in spring and autumn, it is the place of passage of many bird species, some of which are rare and protected. Only 81 species are sedentary. In the steppes, birdwatchers will be able to see cranes, the most common being the grey cranes, but also the damselfly crane, the white-necked crane or the Siberian crane and the monk crane, which lives on lakes.It is possible to observe birds in the Gobi. They have adapted well to the hostile climate of the desert, such as the houbara bustard, a rare migratory bird, the saxaul sparrow, which usually lives near the shrubs from which it takes its name, or the monk vulture, an endangered species.
Among the rarest species that can be found in the country are the black stork, the curly pelican, the swan goose, the snow cock, the great crested grebe and the white shiner. The mountainous region of Khentii, with its wooded areas, lakes and rivers, has more than 250 species of birds alone, including the halo sparrow, the capercaillie, the sack falcon, the black-headed grouse, the blue nightingale, the blue titmouse, the black kite and the corn quail.
Finally, the open spaces and infinite are the privileged places to observe many birds of prey: bearded vultures, eagles, falcons, vultures, owls and buzzards reign as masters on the blue sky of Mongolia.
Mammals
About 130 species share the territories of Mongolia. The wild spaces of the country are the last refuge of some rare animals, even in danger of extinction. There are about thirty protected species in the territory.
The Gobi desert
and the arid steppe areas are the habitat of some mammals endemic to Central Asia, such as the mazaalai, the Bactrian camel, the Przewalski horse and the hemione, which have adapted well to the hostile climate of this region. The mazaalai, also called Gobi bear, is endemic to Mongolia. It is a very rare animal, threatened with extinction: there are only a few dozen individuals living in the protected areas of the desert.Przewalski's horse, takh in Mongolian, is the last wild horse in the world. It owes its name to the explorer Nikolaï Mikhaïlovitch Prjevalski, who discovered the species in 1879, in Dzoungarie. If it lives in the Gobi, it is also found in the national park of Khustain Nuruu, where it was reintroduced in the wild in the 1990s. Another species of equid that can be found in the desert, the khulan is a wild donkey of Mongolia, subspecies of the hemione. Particularly useful to humans - and even other animals - in arid areas, the khulan is able to dig holes in dry river beds and springs to find water.
As for the Bactrian camel, there are about a thousand in the wild in the Gobi Desert. Domesticated for its many qualities, it is a mammal that has adapted to the hostile conditions of the desert. Very strong, it can carry heavy loads and is used as a pack animal by nomads. It also provides them with meat, milk, fur, and its excrements are used as fuel.
The Siberian taiga
in the north of the country is home to many northern-type animals, such as lemmings, otters and elks. Deer, wild boar, squirrels, foxes and hares are also found in the northern woodlands.The mountainous regions
are home to ibexes and mouflons, including the argali, the largest wild mouflon in the world. This sheep can reach 1.6 m in the withers and weigh up to 120 kg. Threatened in its native environment - the high mountains - it is killed by man for its meat and its spiral horns, which can weigh up to 22 kg. It is also a prey for wolves and snow leopards. In serious danger of extinction, the population of snow leopards is also declining. There are between 500 and 1,700 of them in Mongolia, distributed between the Altai and Khangai ranges. Killed for their fur by poachers or by breeders for the threat they represent for the herds, these felines live in high altitude, on the summits of high mountains, and also suffer from the degradation of their natural habitat.The plains of the center of the country are home to many marmots, as well as different species of gazelles, including the goitered gazelle and the saiga antelope, which live mainly in the arid steppes. The saiga, recognizable by its arched snout, is the only Eurasian antelope in the world. It is a very fast and enduring animal, which can reach peak speeds of 80 km/h and run for several kilometers at nearly 40 km/h. Poaching and recurrent zudging
have decimated part of the saiga population, which is threatened with extinction. The steppes are also the home of the manuul, or Pallas' cat, a wild cat that has its own genus, the Otocolobus. It has the particularity of having round pupils, unlike other felines, and a third eyelid to protect itself from the wind and sandstorms. Aggressive and solitary, it has been little studied. Once hunted for its fur, it is now protected and considered an endangered species. The fur trade is strictly regulated in an attempt to save its population.If the populations of most mammals are in decline, such as snow leopards, manuuls, gazelles and even marmots, this is not the case for the wild horse and the wolf. With more than 30 000 individuals, Mongolia has the second largest population of wolves in the world. If it is feared by the breeders, it is also considered as the "doctor of the steppes". Indeed, wolves only hunt sick, wounded or fragile animals and are therefore known to sanitize the herds.
Pets
In Mongolia, domestic animals are the livestock of nomadic herders. Nicknamed the "five muskets", they consist of five species of cattle (cows and yaks), goats (goats), sheep (sheep), horses and camels. Reindeer are also raised by the Tsaatan in the north of the country, especially around Lake Khövsgöl.
The flora
There are nearly 2,800 species of plants in Mongolia, of which 975 are used in local traditional medicine and 200 are used to make medicines for modern medicine. About 150 species are endemic, i.e. they are found only in Mongolia. Only 1% of Mongolia's territory is used for agriculture. The rest can be divided into three zones.
The northern taiga
is a forest consisting mainly of larches, which can reach 45 m in height, birches and pines. There are also berry and fruit bushes, such as juniper, used to make incense.The grassy steppe
covers almost half of the country. In spring and summer, geraniums, edelweiss, gentians, carnations, peas, rhododendrons... bloom there. Nevertheless, overgrazing endangers about 200 species of flowers. In the south, the grassy plains give way to the arid expanses of the Gobi.The desert includes fascinating species, which have developed special characteristics to survive the extreme climatic conditions. The saxaul is a thorny bush that has no leaves and whose roots, known as succulent, i.e. full of juice, are very deep. They can dive up to 30 m deep to look for water. Its wood is also waterlogged and very dense, so much so that it does not float. Saxaouls forests help to fix the dunes and prevent erosion, as well as to slow down sandstorms. This shrub is found only in Central Asia, and its population is declining due to human activity and climate change.
