The hunt is on.
Protectors of the tamaraw will soon be launching a search for what is believed to be a small population of the iconic wild buffalo at Mt. Halcon.
Towering 2,616 meters above sea level, Mt. Halcon is the highest peak on Mindoro Island. It is the 23rd-highest peak in the country.
Mt. Halcon’s steep slopes have earned it the reputation of being one of the most difficult and technically, the most challenging mountain to climb in the Philippines.
Home to the critically endangered Mindoro bleeding heart, an endemic species on the island, Mt. Halcon is an ideal habitat for the Tamaraw.
Neil Anthony del Mundo, Assistant Protected Area Superintendent of the Mts. Iglit-Baco National Park (MIBNP) and the coordinator of the Tamaraw Conservation Program (TCP) believes they may have a good lead about Tamaraws in Mt. Halcon.
On Wednesday, he said a key informant interview team of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Tamaraw Conservation Program asked indigenous people residents of Barangay Lantuyang at the foot of Mt. Halcon about tamaraws.
“According to Tatay Garciano, a 76 years old resident and respondent, he had seen tamaraws in Mt. Halcon in his younger years. The porters and guides of mountaineers ascending Mt. Halcon summit had earlier confirmed recent sightings of footmarks (or animal tracks) similar to carabaos, only smaller,” he said.
He said the TCP would be conducting verification surveys by June with the hope of finding tamaraw populations in Mt. Halcon.
The distance from Mount Halcon to Mounts Iglit-Baco National Park, known as the last stronghold of the remaining tamaraw population on the island, is about 60 kilometers.
Mts. Iglit-Baco National Park is predominantly situated on the side of Occidental Mindoro.
According to Del Mundo, the tamaraw population on the island is now fragmented. There are reported sightings in different locations and some are sighted near indigenous people (IP) communities or areas outside their known habitats.
Nevertheless, it will be exciting to learn that a tamaraw population now inhabits Mt. Halcon, he said.
“This is significant if it is true since tamaraws were first discovered in Oriental Mindoro in 1888,” said Del Mundo.
In the last few decades, the tamaraw population in Oriental Mindoro was believed extinct, he said.
It was in 2018 when a viable population of tamaraws in Mt. Gimparay was reported.
“We verified that there were more than 100 tamaraws there,” del Mundo recalled.
Having a viable population in a range for wild animals such as the Mindoro dwarf buffalo is a welcome development, he added.
A fragmented population, on the other hand, is not good news as inbreeding may occur, eventually resulting in genetic defects in offspring.
According to Del Mundo, the occurrence of a tamaraw population at Mt. Halcon only means the tamaraw are now being forced to go to higher elevations, away from the human population, possibly because of development or worse, hunting activities.
Del Mundo had earlier bared that the highly territorial tamaraw may have been fighting for the shrinking territory at MIBNP, as evidenced by six carcasses of young male tamaraws discovered around the MIBNP in 2021 and 2022.
This, he said, is also the reason why the TCP is now seriously considering the relocation of a viable population of the animals in other areas on the island.
Mts. Calavite and the Tamaraw Gene Pool, where the famous tamaraw Kalibasib was born and died more than 20 later are being eyed as possible relocation sites, also as part of an ex-situ or offsite conservation captive breeding program.
Last week, the TMC visited a mountainous area in Puerto Galera town to look into the potential relocation of the tamaraws.
However, Del Mundo said the possibility is not happening in the near future. “It’s a very very long process. It is part of the feasibility study for ex-situ and translocation (we are conducting),” he said.
According to Del Mundo, the existence of a wild tamaraw population in any area outside the MIBNP has a drawback as they pose a danger to surrounding communities.
Unlike their bigger cousins, the carabao or the beast of burden, the shy and elusive tamaraws are very aggressive when cornered or threatened by humans, especially when they are with their young.
Image credits: Walter Eric Sy | Dreamstime.com, Jennermb | Dreamstime.com
