Iglit Baco National Park in Occidental Mindoro is the last stronghold of the endangered Tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis), the National symbol of the Philippines. This small water buffalo was once widespread along the entire island of Mindoro. Now they can only be found in this National Park where they number at over 200 individuals.
We trekked up to the national park through a thick soup of fog and pelting rain. Once the weather cleared, we were treated to a unique environment of lush green, rolling fields of grass high on the slopes of Mt. Iglit at 3,000 feet. I was told that this area was used as grazing fields for commercial cattle in the 1950’s by a multinational. The only remnant of this venture was an abandoned runway that is barely visible due to the growth of tall cogon grass.
There is still the threat of poaching from hunters who kill the Tamaraw for its meat and horns. The only protection that the Tamaraw gets is from a handful of dedicated park rangers of the DENR that are stationed in the park. The rangers are ill -equipped to deal with the threat of armed poachers and receive very little support from government agencies. Yet, the rangers ignore the threats and go there on sheer will and determination to save the Tamaraw. They are true HEROES.
As an interesting side-note, we checked the logbook of visitors to the park and they numbered a measly 900 people for the year 2012 alone. Most of the visitors ironically came from students of FEU, who use the Tamaraw as a symbol for their sports teams.
Terra Explorare 