PENRO Agusan del Norte joins hands with the local governments of Occidental and Oriental Mindoro in celebrating Tamaraw Month under the Presidential Proclamation No. 273 series of 2002, which designates October of every year as “Special Month for the Conservation and Protection of the Tamaraw in Mindoro.”
It is one of the country’s largest endemic mammal and important flagship species and sadly, it is on the verge of extinction. The proclamation thus enjoins all Filipinos, not only Mindoreños, to protect and conserve the tamaraw as our legacy to future generations.
This year’s theme “Tamaraw na Tinatangi, Pamana ng Lipi” reflects the commitment to conserve the endangered Tamaraw (Bubalus Mindorensis) which has been classified as critically endangered in the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The tamaraw is a much smaller version of the carabao, and is distinguished by its V-shaped, backward-pointing stout horns which it shakes to signal aggression. Tamaraw population, estimated at 10,000 in the 1960s, has dwindled to the current count of 274, with the decline largely attributed to diseases, illegal poaching, and habitat loss.
: “Tamaraw na tinatangi, Pamana ng Lipi”