Animals adapted to all kind of ecosystems such as forest, steppe, desert, alpine, tundra, talus and water surrounding grove, have established themselves in Mongolia. Many animals, which are frequently spread throughout the Siberian taiga, European-type forests, western Asia and Turan desert, are included in the aforementioned animals. Also there are many endemic species, which are found in only deserts and steppes of Central and Eastern Asia. Mongolia has extinct animals and takes a leading place in the world by its more precious finds of fossils and pre-historic bones. 

A total of 138 species of mammals, 449 species of birds , 75 species of fish , 6 species of amphibians and 22 species of reptiles have been registered on the animal kingdom list of Mongolia.

Besides these, there are more than 13,000 species of invertebrate, including 516 species of insects, worms, fresh water and terrestrial mollusks in Mongolia. Of the above-mentioned animals 24 mammals are basic hunting animals, 32 hunted by just a few and 4 are not to be hunted. A total of 30 species and sub-species mammals are listed in the rare and very rare classifications of the Mongolian Red Book, which was revised in 1997.

Livestock

Agriculture forms 32.5% of the GDP in Mongolia and the output of livestock production represents 87.6% of total agricultural output.

The total numbers of livestock (sheep, goat, camels, horses and cattle) reached 32.9 million in 1998. 129 million hectares of land is designated as agricultural land of which 326.6 thousand hectares is cropped. 194.9 thousand tons of wheat, 65.2 thousands tons of potato and 45.7 thousand tons of vegetable were harvested in 1998.

Gross agricultural output in 1998 at current prices amounted to MNT425 billion (livestock MNT372 billion and crops MNT53 billion). Mongolia has five main types of livestock and in 1998 estimated the following livestock populations 356.500 Camels, 3.059.100 Horses, 7.725.800 Cattle, 14.694.200 Sheep, and 11.061.900 Goats . An estimated 187.147 households are herders, an increase of 250% from 1990 and an increase of 1.9% on 1997. Over 55% of herders are between 16 and 35 years of age. Over 60% of herders had less than 100 livestock, a reduction of 8% since 1995. As well as the five main livestock, others are also bred. In 1998, the following estimates were made on other livestock: 19.900 Pigs, 66.600 Poultry, 643 Reindeer, 1510 Donkeys, 1057 Bees, 193 Rabbits and 28 Foxes.

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