Wildlifeof Mongolia
Resources & credits
Sources · Conservation status · Photography
About this guide
A field guide to the wildlife of Mongolia: 587 mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, plus a first collection of freshwater fishes.
How the species list was built
The list follows Mongolia's own national checklists: the Mammal Diversity Database country list for mammals, the 2020 checklist of the birds of Mongolia reconciled to IOC World Bird List 15.2, the Reptile Database for reptiles and the Mongolian national list for amphibians. Fossils, domestic animals, synonyms, vagrant records and species outside Mongolia were removed. Photos and written accounts are still being added, so some species have neither yet.
Mongolia spans Gobi desert, mountain steppe, the glaciated Altai and northern taiga. Taxonomy and identifications are reviewed as the guide grows.
Reading the conservation status
Status labels are Mongolia's own national Red List categories (mammals 2006, birds 2011, reptiles and amphibians 2006, fishes 2006). They describe how threatened a species is within Mongolia, which can differ from its status elsewhere. Where a species could not be matched to the national assessment, no label is shown.
Reference sources
- Mammal Diversity Database (v2.5) — mammal checklist and taxonomy
- A Checklist of Birds of Mongolia (2020) and the IOC World Bird List (v15.2) — bird checklist and names
- The Reptile Database — reptile taxonomy and distribution
- Regional Red List of Mongolia: mammals (2006), birds (2011), reptiles and amphibians (2006) and fishes (2006) — national status labels
- iNaturalist · Mongolia and Wikimedia Commons — openly licensed photographs
Planning a visit
National park entry rules, border-area permits, fees and road access change often. Check current conditions with the park office, conservation authority or your operator before travelling.
Wildlife sightings are never guaranteed. The species listed for each area are what is realistically possible there, not what you should expect on a given day.
Your plans and sightings
Your trip plan and sightings are saved in this browser, on this device only — we never see them. Clearing your browser data will clear them too, so download the PDF if you want a copy to keep. Email buttons open a draft in your mail app; nothing is sent until you send it.
Photo credits
Images come from iNaturalist observations or Wikimedia Commons under open licences (CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA or public domain). Photographer, source and licence are shown in the photo information panel and listed below.