By Cielito M. Reganit
MANILA, Oct. 10 (PNA) — As the Philippines celebrate Tamaraw Month this October, good news is in the offing as conservation efforts have indicated that the country’s largest and rarest endemic land animal is on a comeback.
Rodel Boyles, head of the Tamaraw Conservation Program (TCP) and Mts. Iglit-Baco Park superintendent, said that the latest tamaraw population stands at 382 – the highest ever recorded since conservation efforts began.
“We counted 382 heads during our annual survey last April – a big improvement from the 345 recorded in 2013, and the 327 we saw in 2012. We are also seeing more juveniles – a sure sign that population recovery is underway,” he said.
Differentiated from the larger and more docile carabao (Bubalus bubalis carabanesis), the tamaraw (Bubalis mindorensis) bears distinctive V-shaped horns, a shorter tail and a scraggly coat of chocolate to ebony fur.
Adult tamaraws stand only four feet tall and average 300 kilograms – about half as much as a typical carabao – but have been known for their toughness and ferocity.
Cornered or threatened, they can be very aggressive, chasing their foes up to a kilometer.
And hunters have long claimed to have emptied rifle clips into charging bulls, to no avail.
Experts have estimated that about 10,000 tamaraws thrived in Mindoro in the early 1900s.
However, its population was decimated by widespread logging, hunting and an outbreak of cattle-killing rinderpest in the 1930s.
In 1969, tamaraw population was thought to have dropped to less than 100 heads, threatening the species with extinction.
The tamaraw is classified as critically endangered – the highest risk rating for any animal species – with just a few hundred surviving atop the grassy slopes and forest patches of Mts. Iglit, Baco, Aruyan, Bongabong, Calavite and Halcon in Mindoro.
Conservation efforts date back nearly 40 years with four national laws having passed to protect it from poaching – Commonwealth Act 73 plus Republic Acts 1086, 7586 and 9147.
The latest conservation effort is the Tamaraw Times Two project which aims to double the number of wild tamaraw from 300 to 600 by 2020.
It is a collaboration between the TCP, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Far Eastern University (FEU), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Mindoro’s indigenous Tau Buid tribesfolk.
The Tamaraw Times Two project also aims to revitalize much of Mindoro’s deforested mountain habitats, promoting a holistic ‘Ridge-to-Reef’ approach.
The WWF said that healthy peaks and forests translate to a better-managed source of water so essential for the vast rice-lands of Mindoro’s western floodplains; and healthy mountains in turn, are conducive to productive coasts and coral reefs, a source of seafood for millions.
In the meantime, Joel Palma, head of the WWF-Philippines Conservation Programs, said that they aim to synthesize improved park management with enhanced population survey methods since, except for calving cows, adult tamaraws are mostly solitary.
“Adding new survey sites and deploying motion-activated camera traps for example, shall give us a clearer picture of tamaraw numbers – especially in areas too remote to study effectively,” he said.
“Empowering adjacent communities for the protection of tamaraw breeding, grazing and wallowing areas is also crucial in boosting numbers,” Palma added.
These efforts have also turned in additional benefits.
State-of-the-art camera traps deployed by WWF and TCP in Mindoro’s Iglit-Baco Natural Park have also revealed new images of Mindoro’s rarely-seen fauna – suggesting that enhanced park management has buoyed more than tamaraw numbers.
The cameras have captured images of Philippine brown deer (Cervus mariannus), Philippine warty pigs (Sus philippensis) and red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus), the wild form of the domestic chicken.
Meanwhile, news of the tamaraw’s recovery was met with elation by the school and conservation partner whose emblem bears the horned visage of the tamaraw – the FEU.
FEU President Dr. Michael Alba lauded the latest reports of the animal’s comeback saying that conservation efforts are on the right track.
“That our allies have counted 37 more heads from last year proves we are on the right track. The tamaraw, more than any other animal, is a symbol of Filipino pride and ferocity,” Alba said. (PNA)