Mongolia
Wild Bactrian Camel, Camelus ferus
Mongolia is a fabulous country to look for mammals in and my 2 weeks here in September 2016 was one of my best ever trips, with 45 species in 15 nights including Wild Camels, both Steppe and Marbled Polecats, Pallas’s Cat and many cool small mammals including Long-eared Jerboas and Long-tailed Dwarf Hamsters. A full report is here.
Long-eared Jerboa, Euchoreutes naso
Gobi Altai Region
Pallid Ground Squirrel, Brandt’s Voles, Corsac Fox, Siberian Marmots.
Thick-tailed Pygmy Jerboa, Salpingotus crassicauda
Mother Mountain
Mother Mountain
Great Gerbils, Black-tailed Gazelle, Northern and Andrew’s Three-toed Jerboas, Midday Gerbil, Grey Dwarf Hamster, Tolai Hare, Feral (domestic) Bactrian Camel.
Gobi Strictly Protected Area and surroundings
Wild Bactrian Camel, Wild Ass, Argali, Long-eared Hedgehog, Lesser White-toothed Shrew, Alashanian Pipistrelle, Red Fox, Desert Hamsters, Grey Dwarf Hamsters, Northern Three-toed Jerboa, Koslov’s Pygmy Jerboa, Five-toed Pygmy Jerboa, Thick-tailed Pygmy Jerboa, Long-eared Jerboa, Siberian Jerboa.
Gobi Strictly Protected Area A
Severey and Zoolon Mountain
Black-tailed Gazelles, Balikun Jerboa, Siberian Jerboa, Koslov’s Pygmy Jerboa and Five-toed Pygmy Jerboa, Pallas’s Pika, Siberian Ibex, Alashan Ground Squirrels, Mongolian Gazelles, Wolf.
Yolyn Am
Yolyn Am Gorge
Mongolian & Midday Gerbils, Pallas’s Pika, Marbled Polecat, Steppe Polecat, Red Fox, Beech Marten, Pallas’s Cat, Long-tailed Dwarf Hamster, Gobi-Altai Mountain Vole.
Kozlov’s Pygmy Jerboa, Salpingotus kozlovi
North of Dalanzadgad
Gobi Jerboa, Mongolian Gazelles, Red Fox.
Hustai National Park
Wapiti, Cervus canadensis
Przewalski’s Horse, Wapiti, Long-tailed Ground Squirrel, Siberian Marmot, Mongolian and Midday Gerbils, Long-tailed Dwarf Hamster, Striped Dwarf Hamster, Mongolian Silver Vole, Reed Vole, Northern Red-sided Vole, Red Fox, Corsac Fox, Steppe Polecat, Wolf.
Przewalski’s Horse, Equus ferus
Community Reports
The World’s Best Mammalwatching
No matter where you live I can guarantee it is going to feel crowded compared to the glorious emptiness of Mongolia. The world’s most sparsely populated country might be light on humans, but it is rich in other mammals, with Snow Leopards, Saiga and most of the planet’s few remaining wild Bactrian Camels. A trip deep into the Gobi Desert, with Tumen and Oyunaa, is one hell of an adventure. I went in 2016. Not only have you got a good chance of seeing camels, you should also see a plethora of very cool small mammals including the superbly ridiculous Long-eared Jerboa. See more of the World’s Best Mammalwatching.
Altai Mountain Snow Leopards, 2025: Cat Expeditions, 10 days & 4 species including Saiga, Siberian Ibex and 4 different Snow Leopards.
Manul Safari, 2024: Cat Expeditions, 1 week & 8 species including Pallas’s Cat, Mongolian Gazelle and Corsac Fox.
Snow Leopards, Winter 2024: Wise Birding, 11 days & 6 species including Snow Leopard, Argali and Mongolian Gazelles.
Mongolia Self-driving, 2024: Jan Ebr, 15 days & 29 species including Daurian Zokor, Daurian Hedgehog and Corsac Fox.
Snow Leopards, 2024: Cat Expeditions, 1 week and 4 species: Snow Leopards, Saiga, Siberian Ibex and Goitered Gazelle.
Winter in Mongolia, 2023: Heng Yirui, 2 weeks & 15 species including 7 Snow Leopards and a Pallas’s Cat.
Manul Safari, 2023: Cat Expeditions, 10 days & 7 species including Pallas’s Cat, Mongolian Gazelle, Corsac Fox and Eurasian Badger.
Winter Cat Quest, 2023: Wise Birding, 10 days & 14 species including Snow Leopard, Pallas’s Cat and Argali.
Mongolia, 2022: Philip Preccey, 12 days & 32 species including Snow Leopard, Pallas’s Cat and Saiga.
Manul Safari, 2022: Sebastian Kennerknecht, 8 days & 5 species including Mongolian Hamster and Pallas’s Cats. Awesome photos!
Mongolia, 2022: Daan Drukker, 4 weeks & 46 species including Pallas’s Cat, Saiga, Argali and Wild Camel.
Mongolia, 2022: Karl Van Ginderdeuren, 17 days & 19 species including Steppe Polecat, Pallas’s Cat and Snow Leopard.
Mongolia, 2019: Paul Carter, 4 weeks & 46 species including Saiga, Steppe Zokor and Zaisan Mole Vole. Great report!
Mongolia, 2019: Wise Birding’s reports of two trips with species including Snow Leopard, Pallas’s Cat, Mongolian Wild Ass, and Marbled & Steppe Polecats.
Mongolia, 2019: Sandwich Bird Tours & Wildlife Tour in Mongolia, 2 weeks & 17 species including Snow Leopard and Pallas’s Cat.
Mongolia, 2019: Justin Brown, 2 weeks & species including Saiga, Camels and a Gobi Bear.
Mongolia, 2019: Willdife Tour in Mongolia, 18 days and several mammals including brilliant Snow Leopard and Pallas’s Cat viewing.
Mongolia, 2018: Munkhnast Dalannast, 3 weeks & 30 species including Marbled and Steppe Polecats and Pallas’s Cat.
Mongolia, 2018: Karl Van Ginderdeuren, with species including Pallas’s Cat and Snow Leopard.
Mongolia, 2018: Steve Firth, 2 weeks & 19 species including Marbled Polecat, Corsac Fox and a Snow Leopard.
Mongolia, 2018: Naturetrek, 12 days & 15 species including Saiga, Corsac Fox and Snow Leopard.
Hustai National Park & Toson Nature Reserve, 2018: Stuart Chapman, 6 days & 11 species including Daurian Ground Squirrel, Striped Dwarf Hamster and Mongolian Gazelle.
Mongolia, 2018: Phil Gregory, 18 days & 25 mammals including Corsac Fox, Pallas’s Cat and Argali.
Snow Leopards, 2017: Arne Secelle & Edith Verschorre, 2 weeks & 17 species including 5 Snow Leopard sightings, 3 Pallas’s Cats and a Marbled Polecat (not a Steppe Polecat it seems).
Mongolia, 2017: Phil Gregory, 18 days & 27 mammals including Campbell’s Hamster and Argali.
Mongolia, 2016: Jon Hall, 15 nights and 45 mammals including Wild Camels, Marbled & Steppe Polecats, Pallas’s Cat, 9 jerboa species including Long-eared Jerboa and 4 hamster species.
Mongolia, 2015: Richard Webb, 2 weeks and 33 mammals including Bactrian Camel, Long-eared Jerboa, Prezwalski’s Horse and a Snow Leopard.
Mongolia, 2013: John Pilgrim, 2 weeks & 33 mammals including Long-eared Jerboa, Snow Leopard, Argali, Marbled Polecat & Prezwalski’s Horse.
Mongolia, 2004: Steve Anyon-Smith, 1 month & 30 mammals.
Also See
Recommendations for Guides for a Manul Trip, June 2025
Meriones Gebils: Taxonomy and Tails, May 2020
Snow Leopards in Mongolia – RFI, September 2016
Wild Camel in the Gobi, October 2016
Pygmy Jerboas, April 2014
Mongolia RFI: Camels and other mammals, September 2013
Resources
Daan Drukker’s Field Guide to the Squirrels of Mongolia, 2023 comes with a set of sound recordings, which can be downloaded here. If you are planning a trip to Mongolia, make sure to download the sounds to your phone.
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