Cover photo: Tamaraw amongst vegetation © Gregg Yan
Tamaraw ecological research
This action is developed in close collaboration with the D’ABOVILLE Foundation in the frame of the Mangyan – Tamaraw Driven Landscape Program.
The research aims at addressing the scientific gaps in our understanding of the species and primarily to address the following issues within Mts Iglit-Baco National Park:
The research also attempts to answer the following scientific questions:
For this research, several collaborations are in place such as:
The research aims at addressing the scientific gaps in our understanding of the species and primarily to address the following issues within Mts Iglit-Baco National Park:
- Why are tamaraw only found/restricted within 2,500 ha around Magawang station inside the core zone of the monitoring?
- What has changed within the 5,000 ha of known presence of the species in the last 20 years? What is the reason for the observed distribution decline?
- Are other wildlife populations and plant biodiversity declining as well?
The research also attempts to answer the following scientific questions:
- What is the impact of the 2016 Hunting Agreement on tamaraw distribution and movements?
- What is the influence of traditional hunting and traps on tamaraw behavior?
- What is the impact of poaching from lowlanders on the populations of tamaraw and other animals?
- What is the impact of habitat management on tamaraw behavior (burning for counting, hunting, poaching…)?
- How to assess the accuracy of the annual tamaraw counting method?
- What is the actual quality of the habitat (grassland/forest) in upper Iglit?
For this research, several collaborations are in place such as:
- Coordination of the research by an international 'Tamaraw Research Officer', specifically addressing questions about the natural habitat in which tamaraw persist.
- Development of a scientific collaboration with a French researcher from the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) at the Laboratory of Biometry – Evaluative Biology of the University Lyon1, France, in order to work on the population dynamics of the tamaraw, data analysis and modeling.
Scientific papers
The AWCSG collaborates with its partners to write and publish scientific papers about all aspects of tamaraw biology and conservation.