Tamaraw population in Mounts Iglit-Baco rises 12% in 2026

Critically endangered tamaraw graze in Mounts Iglit-Baco Natural Park in Mindoro. Endemic to Mindoro, these elusive wild buffalo feed mainly on grasses, young bamboo shoots and wild sugarcane in remote forest clearings and mountainous habitats. (Photos courtesy of DENR-Mimaropa)

MANILA, Philippines — The population of critically endangered tamaraws monitored in Mounts Iglit-Baco Natural Park (MIBNP) increased by 12 percent this year, with 425 animals recorded during the 2026 Annual Tamaraw Population Count.

The count, conducted from April 15 to 20 by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-Mimaropa through the Tamaraw Conservation Program Office (TCPO), was higher than the 380 tamaraws recorded in 2025 using the same standardized monitoring method.

Article continues after this advertisement

Tamaraw count up

The 425 tamaraws refer only to the population monitored within the core zone of MIBNP, which hosts the country’s largest known remaining wild population of the species and has served as the primary long-term monitoring site since 2000, said the DENR-Mimaropa.

FEATURED STORIES

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

Other confirmed tamaraw habitats in Mindoro include the proposed Siburan–Aruyan–Dangari–Iyason–Kinarawan Critical Habitat, formerly the Aruyan-Malati Tamaraw Reservation, and the Upper Amnay Watershed. These areas support additional wild tamaraw populations and are monitored through separate conservation and research initiatives.

DENR said all vantage points recorded tamaraw sightings this year, including areas where no observations were reported in 2025. The survey also documented adults, sub-adults, yearlings and calves, indicating continued recruitment within the monitored population.

Method unchanged

The Annual Tamaraw Population Count uses the Intensive Concentration Count (ICC), or Simultaneous Multi-Vantage Point Count Method, a standardized approach recommended under the Population and Habitat Viability Assessment and implemented by the DENR since 2000.

The survey was conducted simultaneously across multiple vantage points over five days by trained observers from the DENR, the MIBNP Protected Area Management Office, local government units, partner agencies, academic institutions, nongovernment organizations and Indigenous Peoples. Duplicate sightings were validated and removed before the official count was finalized.

Article continues after this advertisement

The DENR emphasized that the count is a long-term monitoring program designed to provide consistent year-to-year comparisons using a standardized method. It added that complementary research and monitoring by partner institutions using different scientific approaches continue to strengthen the scientific basis for tamaraw conservation.

DENR personnel conduct the 2026 Annual Tamaraw Population Count from a vantage point in Mounts Iglit-Baco Natural Park, using the Intensive Concentration Count method to monitor the critically endangered dwarf buffalo. (Photo courtesy of DENR-Mimaropa)

Awareness videos

While the latest count points to an improving population trend within MIBNP, conservationists said the Philippine tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis) remains under threat from human activities, habitat loss and climate change.

Article continues after this advertisement

In 2024, the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development, in partnership with the University of the Philippines Los Baños, launched a 27-month project to assess how awareness and action-based interventions influence conservation attitudes and behavior.

The project found that video-based information, education and communication materials can help encourage pro-conservation behavior toward the tamaraw.

It also recommended stronger coordination among the DENR, local government units, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and enforcement agencies, as well as more training, equipment and logistical support for tamaraw rangers and conservation personnel.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.

Your subscription has been successful.

Researchers likewise called for integrating tamaraw protection measures into Comprehensive Land Use Plans, Forest Land Use Plans and local ordinances.