#mindoro

Tamaraw Bubalus mindorensis

Every October for Tamaraw Month, two special animals take a tour of their own home in Mindoro.

Tala the Tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis) and Mindy the Mindoro Bleeding-heart (Gallicolumba platenae) pigeon like to visit Mt. Siburan, Mt. Iglit, and Mt. Baco, mountains where generations of their friends and relatives have lived side-by-side.

Unfortunately as time goes on, there are less of them now.

Only around 600 Tamaraw can be found (MBCFI 2021), and up to 400 Mindoro bleeding-hearts are estimated to be left in Mindoro (BirdLife).

Both of them are “island endemics” meaning they can only be found in Mindoro and nowhere else in the world! (Gonzalez 1999)

Learn more by attending the upcoming Tamaraw Symposium in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro this 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟲 𝘁𝗼 𝟭𝟴, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱. Follow Thriving Together with Tamaraw, Mindoro Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, Inc. (MBCFI), and the DENR-Tamaraw Conservation Program Office for the latest updates and trivia.

📌 Oct 16 – MBC Summit

📌 Oct 17 – Tamaraw Symposium

📌 Oct 18 – Mindoro Wildlife Quiz Contest

References

Juan Carlos T Gonzalez et al, 1999 - Rapid island-wide survey of terrestrial fauna and flora on Mindoro Island, Philippines https://www.mbcfi.org.ph/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/8_Mindoro_Island_Wide_Survey.pdf

Here’s Tala the Tamaraw tooting her own horn or torotot, since October marks Tamaraw month. They can be so annoying! Especially for Mindy, a shy and quiet Mindoro Bleeding-heart pigeon.

Their families have been neighbors for generations, but as time goes on, there are less of them now.

Only around 600 Tamaraw can be found (MBCFI 2021), and up to 400 Mindoro bleeding-hearts are estimated to be left in Mindoro (BirdLife).

Both of them are “island endemics” meaning they can only be found in Mindoro and nowhere else in the world! (Gonzalez 1999)

Learn more by attending the upcoming Tamaraw Symposium in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro this October 16 to 18, 2025. Follow Thriving Together with Tamaraw, Mindoro Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, Inc. (MBCFI), and the DENR-Tamaraw Conservation Program Office on Facebook for the latest updates and trivia.

📌 Oct 16 – MBC Summit

📌 Oct 17 – Tamaraw Symposium

📌 Oct 18 – Mindoro Wildlife Quiz Contest

References

Juan Carlos T Gonzalez et al, 1999 - Rapid island-wide survey of terrestrial fauna and flora on Mindoro Island, Philippines https://www.mbcfi.org.ph/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/8_Mindoro_Island_Wide_Survey.pdf

Dalman, Manguiane from Mindoro (Philippines)

Taken during the 1904 World's Fair

Legend from The Island of Mindoro

One moonlit night in the barrio of Balete the woman of the house heard an eerie sound never heard before. The sound came from the backyard which was planted with tall trees. Overcome with fear the woman did not dare to find out what it was. The following night the same noise coming from the same direction was heard again. The mother felt alone for no one else in the family was awake. Through a slit on the door she peeped to find out if their dog was around, for if there was really nobody coming, the dog would bark. The dog was under the stairs but it had remained silent. After some moments, the dog whined long and loud. This awakened and scared all the other members of the household. No one dared to go out to find out what it was. The next morning they found the dog gone. It could not be found in the whole vicinity. The next evening while ironing some clothes, the woman was alarmed to find a handful of soil laid on one end of the ironing board. Who could have placed it there? Again she heard the weird sound. This time she mustered enough courage to peeped through a small opening of the window facing the backyard. There she beheld a bearded man of enormous size as black as coal. He smoked a roll of tobacco as big as a banana trunk with thick smoke coming from a chimney. His large eyes seem to be focused on her. She woke up her companions and peeped again. The creature was gone. What the woman saw was believed to be a kapre. Not long after this incident the family abandoned the place and settled in another barrio. From Philippine Folk Literature Series: Vol. III, The Legends (2002), compiled and edited by Damiana L. Eugenio, published by The University of the Philippines Press (shopee, amazon)

Mod's Annotations:

The word "kapre" had originally come from the Spanish "cafre" and often referred to Muslim infidels which incidentally had actually come from Arabs that referred to Christians as "kafir" or Christian infidels. There's a good chance that the current understanding of what a kapre is may had also been influenced from racially prejudiced stereotypes of not only Muslims but also the dark-skinned Negrito indigenous groups of the country that was spread among the Hispanicized Christian population of the country (Tan, 2008).

It isn't specified which people group from Mindoro this story comes from so I can't be specific if it comes from a specific ethnic group. Mindoro has multiple ethnic groups that reside within the island and speak a variety of languages with Batangas Tagalog being the most common.

Annotation References