Not all heroes wear capes, as the saying goes. Some of them walk for days on end up in the mountains of Mindoro, exposed to the elements. They cross raging rivers, in punishing weather, risking their lives to defend the critically endangered Mindoro dwarf buffalo, also known as Tamaraws, or in scientific terms, the Bubalus Mindorensis.
Thus, it was but fitting that the day would be April 9, the day the country observes its National Day of Valor or “Araw ng Kagitingan,” that these defenders of the Tamaraw would be recognized and given the much-needed support by the partnership between a government department and a private business entity.
On that day, the TessDrive team tagged along with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Toyota Motor Philippines for the journey from Manila to Occidental Mindoro, to the Bantay Tamaraw jump-off points where the dwarf buffalo defenders start their perilous treks.
The Tamaraw population, which once numbered up to over 10,000 in the early 1900s, rapidly declined over the decades due to a number of factors—all of which caused by human activities: Hunting, poaching, and habitat loss. By 2000, the Tamaraw, which could only be found in the island of Mindoro, was declared critically endangered. As of the last official count in May 2024, there were only an estimated 574 to 610 Tamaraws spotted, up from just fewer than a hundred in the 1960s.
Meet the Tamaraw guardians
Bantay Tamaraw forest rangers Randy Acosta, Wilson Cortuna, and Jeward Dela Cruz possess the strong sense of duty to protect the Tamaraw, even if they know that in every trek they embark upon, bodily harm may befall them. Just like what happened recently to their young colleague, 21-year-old Ezekiel Samson Batitia, a member of the indigenous Tau-buid tribe assigned to Mounts Iglit-Baco Natural Park (MIBNP). MIBPNP, which is about 106,655.52 hectares, is the largest and most important habitat of the Tamaraw.
Without warning
Ezekiel was fetching water from a creek in a forest on March 26 when the animal, with its sharp V-shaped horns, charged from the tall grasses and gored him repeatedly. Ezekiel managed to run to a nearby ravine and jump down to safety before the Tamaraw could charge again. Ezekiel was rescued by the DENR-Tamaraw Conservation Program (DENR-TCP) team members who carried him on foot for 5 hours through the forested mountain down to the road, where a vehicle waited to take him to the nearest hospital. He is currently recovering. He understood that the animal who attacked him saw him as a threat, and acted according to its instincts.
“When you disturb a Tamaraw, it will more often than not attack, especially if there are small offspring nearby. We’re the ones encroaching upon its territory, so our eyes and ears must always be alert, and we mustn’t take things easy. The Tamaraw can easily hide among the tall grasses, because it isn’t that large, and it will charge without warning,” Randy stressed.
Randy is the team leader of the Upper Amnay Watershed, and a Bantay Tamaraw ranger for 12 years. He was part of the group that rescued Ezekiel. “The risks we take every day are already part of our routine. The Tamaraw is very wild, very aggressive, and we have to make sure that they are safe from hunters.”
On the other hand, Wilson is a relative newbie, having been on the ground for around 16 months. The former overseas Filipino worker from Saudi Arabia is grateful that he has found meaningful work in his home province, and considers himself lucky that this involves looking after the Tamaraw, and Mindoro’s fragile ecosystem in general.
“I’m honored to be part of the Bantay Tamaraw team. I hold this profession in high regard, because it is only here in Mindoro that one can see a Tamaraw. I am proud that I am from Mindoro,” Wilson said.
Jeward, who has been a Bantay Tamaraw ranger for 7 years, adds that it’s not only the Tamaraw they look after. “We monitor everything. We keep an eye out not just for Tamaraw hunters, but also for people illegally cutting down trees, those smuggling out endemic plant species, and those who catch fish using illegal methods, like electrocution. We gather video evidence, and report these acts to our supervisors. Since this area is a Tamaraw habitat, humans are prohibited from altering the animal’s natural environment,” he explained.
Hiking for days
Jeward said that the Bantay Tamaraw rangers conduct their patrols entirely on foot. Sometimes, the hike takes many days, up and down mountains, before they spot a Tamaraw. When they see signs of Tamaraw activity in an area, they set up camera traps.
Jeward added: “We place the cameras near areas where Tamaraws wallow in. Sometimes, along with footage of Tamaraws, we would also see other rare animals like the bleeding heart bird (Mindoro Bleeding Heart Pigeon).”
Zoologist Neil Anthony Del Mundo, DENR-TCP Deputy Coordinator, confirmed that the Aruyan-Malati Tamaraw Reservation, to where Jeward belongs, “does set up cameras to help them count the number of Tamaraws in the area.” Del Mundo added that the Mindoro Bleeding Heart Pigeon, different from the Luzon BHP, is critically endangered, as well.
Threats from all sides
Despite the Tamaraw’s aggressive nature, what happened to Ezekiel has been an isolated case, as nobody else from the Bantay Tamaraw group has suffered from a similar attack.
For the rangers, the real threat comes from fellow humans.
Randy said, “When you leave your family on your way to work, you never know if you will still be able to return.” He said that they have received death threats from hunters.
“Our lives are in danger. We have gained many enemies with the work that we do,” he said. “One time, our colleagues had to light firecrackers to scare off hunters. Those hunters had guns.”
Randy said he’s doing all of this for future generations, including his kids. “I hope people will realize how important our job is. We don’t want the Tamaraw to end up just as a sad story. My children ask what the Tamaraw looks like, and I show them pictures. I don’t want them to see the Tamaraw only in pictures.”
Geronimo Barcena, DENR-TCP Bantay Tamaraw Team Leader of the MIBNP rangers, said that his team was once chased down by hunters. “We don’t know what our enemy looks like, because they’re fellow Filipinos,” he said.
But his team cannot give up protecting MIBNP, because the area is the entry point of many Tamaraw hunters.
Wilson said their most potent weapon would be their cell phone cameras, which he said have also served as deterrents. “The hunters and loggers are afraid that we have proof, and that we will file cases against them.” Wilson said arrests have been made, and camera footage was used as strong evidence against the violators.
Support from automaker
The world’s number one carmaker, Toyota, through Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP), formalized its support to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Tamaraw Conservation Program. One of Toyota’s iconic and bestselling utility vehicles in the 1970s, the Tamaraw, has made a comeback in the market. And with that, TMP and TMP Foundation handed over a brand-new Toyota Tamaraw passenger van, P500,000 worth of protective gear and survival kits for the Bantay Tamaraw rangers, and a further P3-million funding for the DENR-TCP. The formal turnover of the Toyota Tamaraw to the TCP took place April 7 at the DENR Central Office in Quezon City, in the presence of DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga.
The next day, on April 8, the TessDrive production team joined TMP representatives led by Moon Buendia Umali, PR and sustainability lead for TMP’s corporate communication that brought the long-wheelbase Toyota Tamaraw vehicle and the Bantay Tamaraw kits directly to its beneficiaries at MIBNP-DENR in Occidental Mindoro. Accompanied by the DENR team led by Del Mundo, the group from TMP, DENR, and some Tamaraw rangers also made the rounds to several Bantay Tamaraw stations and jump-off points.
The rangers personally received their kits, consisting of camping gear, backpack, raincoat, sleeping bag, waterproof duffel bag, batteries, a head lamp, waterproof trekking pants with belt, and trekking shoes. All of these items were much-needed, and much-appreciated, by their recipients.
Christina Salazar Flojio, DENR-TCP staff, recalled that she climbed Mts. Iglit-Baco for the first time a few months ago. The trek took two days, and she and the rest of the group suffered being exposed to the harsh mountain weather after their cheap clothes and gear, bought from a nearby ukay-ukay (second-hand clothes store), wore out in the middle of the trek.
“Halfway during the climb, the soles of our shoes detached. Our bags were too heavy, and we had no raincoats. We only used tarpaulin,” she narrated.
Alvin N. Tabuga, a biologist who is a Forest Technician 1 at the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) San Jose and DENR-TCP said, “When their gear is not complete, rangers would settle for sandals or slippers. The TMP gear will help them stay protected from the elements as they work to protect the Tamaraws.”
The turnover happened on April 9, a Philippine holiday (“Araw ng Kagitingan” or Day of Valor or great courage), a day that befits the recipients, as the Bantay Tamaraw rangers have been hailed as having exceptional courage.
“Thank you for considering us courageous. We are honored that our efforts are being recognized. It’s up in the mountains that we’ve experienced walking for days in the middle of raging typhoons, crossing swollen streams and rivers, holding on to anything and to each other just to be able to get to the other side, and to be able to come back home to our families,” Randy narrated.
On the brink of extinction
All that they do is for protecting the forests and the Tamaraw, which has been severely depleted in numbers over the decades. From an estimated 10,000 in the 1900s, it went down to fewer than 100 in the 1960s. The IUCN declared it an endangered species in 1986, and critically endangered in 2000. Those numbers have struggled to go up since then, and agencies and groups that are helping push them up need all the help they can get.
Del Mundo, in a previous interview, said that “The coverage of Tamaraw protection is huge. It is the whole island of Mindoro. Toyota approached us and they said that they will be launching the all-new Tamaraw, and they wanted to be a part of the conservation of the Tamaraws in the wild.”
In order to save the Tamaraw and bring it back to healthy, sustainable numbers, its natural habitat must first be protected. As the TMP and DENR group, including our TessDrive documentary team, visited the various Bantay Tamaraw ranger stations along the MIBNP, we noticed another troubling human encroachment looming.
It was a road under construction. Later, we learned it was named the Victoria-Sablayan Road that would eventually cut across the natural habitat of a number of critically endangered species, including the Tamaraw. The road will split the FB Harrison Wildlife Sanctuary. The Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) for this road is pending as of this writing, but once approved, construction will resume. TessDrive will keep an eye out on further developments.
For this, and for other human activities that are eating into the rainforests of Mindoro island, one can determine that the Bantay Tamaraw’s work is far from over. If just one road encroaches new forest territory, entire human communities and their invasive activities will follow. And then the dwarf buffalo, as well as other endangered species, will be pushed closer to the precipice of extinction.
The guardians of the Tamaraw and of the forests are trying to push back, locking horns with a seemingly unstoppable beast called “human progress,” They will need all the help they can get.