A large number of animals and plants inhabit most of the world's desert regions despite conditions that are - supposedly - completely hostile to life. Dry, barren surroundings and severe fluctuations in temperature force them to adjust to their environment in quite special ways and to deal very carefully with the sparse water resources available. After a sudden rainfall, however, the wilderness often bursts into glorious color and the animal world witnesses astonishing activity. Life in the Gobi Desert is particularly diverse. After the Sahara Desert, the world's second largest arid area covers an area between China and Mongolia which exceeds 386,000 square miles. Home to numerous insects and reptiles, it also hosts gazelles, leopards and wolves. Recently, the extremely sensitive eco-system has increasingly been put at risk - mainly as a result of human intervention. For this reason, Mongolia has declared parts of the Gobi Desert national conservation areas. The wild animals threatened with extinction include the Gobi Bear (URSUS ARCTOS GOBIENSIS), also known as the Mazaalai, a small sub-species of the brown bear. It lives predominantly in the higher regions of the Gobi Desert and feeds mainly on plants. It has been estimated that a mere 30 specimens of this bear, which weighs about 240 pounds, now survive. Mongolia's environment ministry has already had to intervene on a number of occasions to ensure that the small Gobi Bear population has sufficient food to get through severe winters.