October 25, 2025, marked the second Khulan Conservation Day, an observance that underscores Mongolia’s commitment to safeguarding its natural heritage.
Officially designated in 2024 by Mongolia's Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, this annual commitment recognizes the Asiatic wild ass (Equus hemionus), locally known as the khulan, not merely as a protected species, but as an umbrella species vital for maintaining the ecological integrity and biodiversity of the Gobi-Steppe ecosystem.
This designation, championed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Mongolia Program after over a decade of dedicated research and conservation, initiates an annual platform for national action and international collaboration.
Actions on the Ground
The second annual Khulan Conservation Day successfully translated national commitment into tangible, community-level action, with a strong focus on empowerment and education across the khulan's core range provinces of Sukhbaatar, Umnugobi, and Dornogobi — which together are home to around 80% of the global khulan population.
Inspiring the next generation was at the heart of this year’s Khulan Conservation Day. Middle- and high-school students from 61 schools across the khulan’s range provinces were engaged through interactive learning modules on khulan ecology, designed by WCS and approved by local education departments of the three provinces.
Interactive learning sessions on Khulan ecology organized at provincial and soum schools.
Crucially, when a nationwide teachers’ strike threatened to pause activities in some areas, local women conservation champions—whom WCS has been engaging throughout the year in leadership and outreach initiatives—took the lead. In places such as Nomgon, Bayandalai, Khatanbulag, and Khuvsgul soums (districts) across Umnugobi and Dornogobi provinces, these champions collaborated with local government to facilitate ecology sessions for over 100 children.
Their initiative and dedication ensured that Khulan Conservation Day took place, reflecting the growing local ownership and leadership of conservation efforts.
Khulan ecology learning session organized by local women conservation champions in Dornogobi and Umnugobi provinces.
Immersive Education and Public Outreach
Education extended from the classroom to the field. Thirty middle-school students from Khatanbulag soum school experienced conservation first-hand during a field excursion to the WCS Gobi Ecological Research Station (GERS). Khatanbulag lies at the heart of a critical area for khulans, where these wild equids still move freely across the steppe in their nomadic way of life. Having grown up seeing khulans and other local wildlife around their community, the students were eager to learn more about the species that share their landscape.
Under the guidance of WCS researchers and biologists, including Connectivity and Climate Change Manager Dr. Batbayar Galtbalt, the school children learned essential field skills—from using camera traps to observation—building a connection to the wildlife. The enthusiasm was palpable, with one sixth-grade student declaring, “I hope this day never ends.”
Field excursion for middle-school students of Khatanbulag soum, the most critical khulan range area.
Awareness Efforts Beyond the Gobi
While the Gobi remained the heart of Khulan Conservation Day, WCS aimed to inspire participation from across Mongolia—and even beyond its borders.
Dance competition submissions from students of provincial schools.
- Cultural Engagement: A “Khulan Dance” folk dance competition encouraged creative expression. Videos shared online reached wide audiences, with the winning submission from Sainshand, Dornogobi Province, receiving more than 1,000 likes.
- Global Reach: WCS produced and released online learning materials through its Field Sight portal—accessible in both English and Mongolian—that are now being used to teach 3rd to 5th-grade students at the Bronx Zoo in the USA, globalizing the khulan’s conservation story.
- Expert Dialogue: A Speaker Series in Ulaanbaatar, featuring Senior Scientist Dr. Buuveibaatar Bayarbaatar and Country Director Dr. Justine Shanti Alexander, brought together over 50 conservationists to share the latest research and conservation strategies for khulan and snow leopard.
- Amplifying Awareness: A dedicated social media campaign successfully engaged more than 100 international and local partners, significantly expanding awareness and advocacy efforts.
Winners of the dance competition recieve their prizes.
The Ecological Imperative and Policy Response
The urgency behind these efforts stems from the khulan’s vital yet increasingly threatened status. The khulan, one of seven wild equid species worldwide, is a keystone of the Gobi–Steppe ecosystem. Its vast, seasonal movements sustain the health and productivity of this arid landscape by dispersing seeds, recycling nutrients, and maintaining balance among vegetation, soils, and wildlife. As one of the few large herbivores capable of traversing hundreds of kilometers across the desert, the khulan plays a central role in connecting fragmented habitats and supporting ecosystem resilience.
The khulan also occupies a critical position in the food web, serving as prey for wolves, while their carcasses feed vultures and foxes. These interactions link predator, scavenger, and herbivore communities, shaping the ecological processes that define the Gobi–Steppe. Beyond their ecological importance, khulan embody deep cultural and aesthetic values, symbolizing the spirit of Mongolia’s wild, open landscapes and inspiring both pride and stewardship among local communities.
With more than 85% of the global population found in the Mongolian Gobi, Mongolia bears a profound responsibility for the species’ survival. The khulan’s fate is inseparable from that of the Gobi–Steppe itself—a landscape that supports not only migratory wildlife but also the livelihoods of pastoral herding families who depend on its resilience. Protecting the khulan, therefore, is not simply about conserving a single species; it is about safeguarding the ecological integrity, cultural identity, and natural heritage of one of the world’s last great grassland ecosystems.
However, the species is Near Threatened due to multiple, compounding challenges. The most significant threat is habitat fragmentation caused by the rapid expansion of linear infrastructure. Nearly 1,000 km of new railways have already been constructed in the South Gobi, and additional lines are planned. This growing challenge is being addressed through broad collaboration among government agencies, including the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, the Ministry of Road and Transport, and the General Authority for Border Protection, and railway companies. Together, these partners provide policy guidance to promote the implementation of national standards for wildlife passages and wildlife friendly fencing. WCS Mongolia also provides railway companies with scientific data to identify hotspot areas where mitigation measures are most urgently needed. These combined efforts aim to reduce the impacts of new railways in the South Gobi and to improve permeability along the nearly seven-decade-old Trans-Mongolian Railway, facilitating khulan recolonization of their historical range.
Beyond infrastructure development, the khulan also faces serious threats from habitat degradation driven by overstocked livestock and unsustainable grazing practices, illegal hunting, and the increasing impacts of climate change, such as prolonged droughts and catastrophic dzud events.
Securing the Future Through International Partnership
The success of Khulan Conservation Day provides clear direction for the future. As an umbrella species, the khulan's protection ensures the benefits extend widely to the Gobi’s entire ecosystem. The immediate focus remains on securing landscape connectivity— working with partners and authorities to ensure all new infrastructure projects adopt wildlife-friendly design.
Looking forward, WCS Mongolia aims to elevate the observance to an International Khulan Conservation Day, inviting collaboration from all range states (Mongolia, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Israel). Making the day an international platform will enable shared achievements, coordinated policy, and strengthened conservation efforts across the species' entire geographical range, with Kazakhstan and China being identified as priority range states for the next steps. By combining science, policy advocacy, conservation action and passionate community engagement, the khulan’s future—and the integrity of the Gobi-Steppe ecosystem—can be secured.
We thank Cartier for Nature, Fondation Segré and all our partners for their continued support of Khulan Conservation Day.