Although the Great Bustard was once common and widespread in Asia, today likely only approximately 500-1000 Western Great Bustards (Otis tarda tarda) and 1300-2200 Eastern Great Bustards (Otis tarda dybowskii) remain on the continent. The Western Great Bustard persists in larger numbers in the Iberian Peninsula, Central Europe, and the Lower Volga River Region of the Russian Federation.

Elusive and rare, the Sichuan takin is one of the world’s least-studied migratory ungulates. Initial research has revealed seasonal movement patterns and habitat preferences for this mysterious species. In Sichuan, one of the species’ remaining population centers, takin persist in a mosaic of protected areas established to protect the giant panda. There, they thrive in mature forests with bamboo understory.

The Tibetan antelope shows a unique migration strategy among the ungulates of the Tibetan Plateau. They are partially migratory: Some populations make longdistance migrations moving 300-400 km annually, while others remain resident year-round. Only the females migrate within the migratory populations, while most males remain on their collective winter range year-round. Tibetan antelope migration is synchronized with their reproduction cycle.

Saiga antelope regularly undertake long-distance movements varying between wide ranging nomadic movements and also more directed seasonal migrations between summer and winter ranges. Saiga movements in the open and vast grasslands are driven by unpredictable, local precipitation events followed by vegetation green-up, often resulting insaiga shifting from directed movements to more wandering movements to track green up.

About 2 million Mongolian gazelles roam the grasslands of Mongolia and adjacent areas in Russia and China. The species’ most important stronghold is the steppe habitats east of the Trans-Mongolian Railway. These gazelles are true nomads, rarely settling in one place and showing no fidelity to seasonal ranges or movement corridors.

About 100,000 Asiatic wild ass or khulan still roam the drylands of Eurasia. The largest remaining interconnected population is found in the Mongolian Gobi, where an estimated 86,000 khulan – constituting over 80% of the global population – are found. In the Mongolian Gobi, khulan roam across thousands of kilometers and their movements are among the longest reported for terrestrial mammals both globally and nationally.