The Philippines is home to some of the most stunning, rare, and unique animals in the world. Unfortunately, several of these species are at risk of extinction unless immediate action is taken to safeguard them from disappearing in this part of the world.
Consider the Philippine tamaraw (scientific name: Bubalus mindorensis). This small, stocky buffalo is endemic to the Philippines. Adults exhibit a grayish-black coloration, featuring darker stripes along the spine and white markings on the inner sides of the forelegs. Both male and female tamaraws possess a pair of robust, straight horns that point backward.
“At first glance, the tamaraw could be mistaken as a carabao,” Reiza Ayla Bañega, a socio-anthropology major from Xavier University, was quoted as saying. “A closer look would reveal its shorter, leaner built as well as having V-shaped horns. Unlike the domesticated carabao, the tamaraws are extremely solitary creatures. They retreat in the slightest detection of human presence but could charge aggressively when threatened.”
In the 1900s, the tamaraws, numbering approximately 10,000, thrived in the mountains of Mindoro. Recent estimates indicate that only about 500 individuals are left, with nearly 80% of them found in Mounts Iglit-Baco Natural Park. Smaller groups of around 50 and 12 individuals can be found in other regions of the island, and there may be additional small populations surviving in other locations.
The species’ numbers are decreasing so much that the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has included it in its red list as critically endangered in 2008. The following year, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) classified the animal under its Appendix I or those species threatened with extinction.
“The biggest threat to tamaraw is habitat loss due to infrastructure development, logging, and agriculture,” states the website, animalia.bio. “Hunting for food and sustenance is another serious threat that affects the species’ number. Tamaraws also suffer from poaching and diseases from livestock.”
In the past, tamaraws were hunted for sport; however, this practice has been prohibited since 1936. The rinderpest outbreak in the 1930s had a particularly severe impact on their population. Such an event must not occur again.
“Bovine tuberculosis, hemosep and anthrax can enter Mindoro if we’re not careful,” Dr. Mikko Angelo Reyes, a Mindoro-based veterinarian, was quoted by clickthecity.com. “The key is biosecurity, the prevention of disease through quarantine, inoculation, and immunization. We should ensure that at the very least, animals entering the island are checked for sickness. We should also establish and respect buffer zones around protected areas, which are often rung by farms and livestock.”
Environmentalists and conservationists urge that tamaraw should be saved from extinction as the dwarf buffalo play a critical role in helping to maintain balance in the forest and grassland ecosystems of which they are part.
The website, rewild.org, reported that tamaraw is one of the 11 remaining wild cattle species. “They need our help to make a full comeback,” it said.
At the forefront of protecting and conserving the remaining tamaraws in the country is the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB), a line agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
“We’re gaining headway in conserving the tamaraw but must do more to avoid losing this wildlife species,” said Cecile Garcia, BMB tamaraw focal person, when interviewed by the Philippine News Agency.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), in collaboration with the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB), initiated the project titled, “Analyzing the Effectiveness of Awareness Interventions for the Protection and Conservation of the Philippine Tamaraw.”
Started in 2024, the 27-month initiative assessed the impact of awareness and action-oriented interventions on the attitudes and behaviors of communities in both rural and urban settings regarding biodiversity conservation. The objective of the project was to promote community-driven biodiversity protection efforts and to ensure the sustainable management of endangered species, with a particular focus on the tamaraw.
The results indicated that video-based information, education, and communication strategies can significantly affect pro-conservation behavior towards the tamaraw. The research highlighted that effective conservation relies not solely on knowledge, regulations, or incentives, but also on appealing to human values and social motivations that foster biodiversity protection.
The project highlighted the necessity of enhancing inter-agency collaboration among the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), local government units (LGUs), the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), and enforcement agencies.
Most of the remaining tamaraws can be found in the mountains of Iglit-Baco Natural Park, a former game refuge turned into a protected area. Some tamaraws are sighted on Mount Aruyan, Bongabong, Calavite and Halcon.
Aside from tamaraw, the natural park is also home to the Philippine brown deer (Rusa marianna), Oliver’s warty pig (Sus oliveri), and many other rare and endangered species.
Within its 2,500-hectare protection zone are the ancestral domains of five Mangyan tribes – the Tau-buid, Buhid, Bangon, Tadyawan, and Hanunuo. These Mangyans share their home with the rarest tamaraw.
Philippine legislation acknowledges the significance of indigenous communities in the preservation of biodiversity. In addition to the Indigenous People’s Rights Act of 1997, the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018, also known as eNIPAS, affirms that indigenous peoples possess the rights to “govern, maintain, develop, protect, and conserve” their ancestral lands, including those situated within protected areas.
The Tamaraw Conservation Program (TCP) of the government has reported that the Tau-buids are collaborating closely with park management to safeguard and preserve the last remaining habitat for tamaraws. Some members of the Mangyan community act as wardens, while other tribesmen assist the government’s initiative by serving as guides and porters for tourists.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has been supporting efforts of the government to protect and conserve the natural habitat of tamaraws through its Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) since 2013.
There are other organizations, both local, national and international, working together to save the tamaraw from extinction.
“Through strong collaborations through the government, conservation organizations, and the local communities, we are all working toward the protection of tamaraw and other species throughout Mindoro,” said James Slade, wildlife crime prevention officer of the Global Wildlife Conservation in its website. “With these continued partnership and consolidated efforts, the tamaraw should be around for a long time to come.”
Filipinos call this collaboration effort the “bayanihan spirit.” “That is the concept of bayanihan – that everybody in the community has a role to play in a cooperative and determined manner,” Josephine Y. Ramirez-Sato, a Mindoro congresswoman. “In the spirit of bayanihan, in the spirit of heroism, we will make sure that the tamaraw will be here forever, that our children and our children’s children, during their time, will see and enjoy the tamaraw.”
Like most wildlife species in the country, little is known about their mating systems in the wild. “Males and females generally remain separate during most of the year, coming together only during breeding season,” ADW states. “How mates are selected is unknown.”
Generally, tamaraws breed during the dry season – from December to May. Gestation is 276 to 315 days, timed so that births occur during Mindoro’s wet season (June to November), allowing the neonates access to a fresh, abundant food supply.
Cows give birth to a single calf every two years. Most youngsters will stay with their mothers until they are between two and four years old. They reach “adulthood” at 6 years of age.
As tamaraws are herbivorous, they feed on grass species. During the rainy season, they feed on bamboo shoots. The Batangans, a tribal group practicing slash-and-burn agriculture (kaingin), frequently burn small plots for agriculture. Tamaraws often visit these newly-burned locations to feed on grass shoots.
The tamaraws need to be saved from extinction. “The tamaraw is one of the few things we can truly call our own,” says Bañega. “It can only be found in the Philippines and nowhere else in the world. It is (or should be) a source of national pride, a living legend that’s part of our natural heritage and this world’s wonder. Saving the tamaraw means preserving something truly Pinoy for generations to come.”
