The wild Asiatic water buffalo is at present restricted to northeastern India, Ceylon, southern Vietnam, and the Malay Peninsula. This species is widely distributed as a domesticated animal and has been introduced into southern Europe, northern Africa, China, Philippines (called carabao), Indonesia, and Australia. The Tamaraw is Found only on mindoro Island in the Philippines and nowhere else in the world.
The Tamaraw is the largest land animal native to the Philippines. This small buffalo frequents dense vegetation along the rivers in the lowlands of Mindoro island and spends much of its time in the marshy areas. It is found in open grasslands and forests and range from sea level up to the high ridges of mountains on Mindoro Island, with elevation of more than 2000 m.
This dwarf buffalo is over hunted both by sport hunters and by people who are after its meat. The species is one of the top game animals and its head is considered valuable trophy by the average big-game hunter anywhere in the world. Inspite of government regulations prohibiting its capture and killing, the species continues to be collecte and killed by illegal hunters.
This dwarf buffalo is noted for its fierceness when cornered. The native hunters in Mindoro say that it is always best to have a nearly tree to climb up when hunting the Tamaraw, because it really attacks even when slightly wounded.
The Tamaraw found only on Mindoro Island and nowhere else.
Small dark brown or brownish black, with more hair covering on their bodies than the carabao; as large as as half-grown carabao, with short limbs; horns short, triangular at base with very pronounced series of rough grooves on anterior, posterior and lateral sides; inner sides of horn very rough; distal parts of horns rounded, sharply pointed ans coming close together; frontal parts of skull slightly bulging; ears moderate in size.
The animal averages about 1200 mm at the shoulders. The Basal length, sex unknown, 350 mm; total, 380;width of zygoma,164; circumference of horn at base, 280; length of horn, 390; length of upper molar-premolar series, 106; length of lower molar-premolar series, 118; length of upper molar, 62; length of lower molars, 63; total length of lower jaw,322.
The characteristics of Tamaraw, the skull moderately massive, narrow and elongate; profile of face almost straight; rostrum relatively long and slender. Molars Short, high with almost square crowns.
Hair on back reversed being directed forward from haunches to head; ears relatively small.
May be as big as the common carabao and medium-sized as the Tamaraw.
Though the national animal of the Philippines is the carabao, the Tamaraw is also considered as a national symbol of the Philippines. An image of the Tamaraw is found on the 1980-to-early-1990 version of the one-Peso coins.
In 2004, Proclamation No. 692 was enacted to make October 1 a special working holiday in the province of Occidental Mindoro. In line with the Tamaraw Conservation Month, the aim of the proclamation is to remind the people of Mindoro the importance of the conservation of the tamaraw and its environment.
In the 1970s Toyota Motors, through the defunct Delta Motors, built the Tamaraw AUV. Because of its ruggedness and simplicity of design, some examples still survive to this day, and copied by multinational (Ford and General Motors, through Francisco Motors in particular) and local manufacturers to this day. It is quite similar, though, to the Indonesian Kijang. During this time Toyota held a franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association, and once naming its team the Toyota Tamaraws.
During the wake of the Asian van popularity in the 1990s, Toyota Motors released an Asian van called Tamaraw FX in the Philippines. It was widely patronized by taxi operators and was immediately turned into a staple mode of transportation much like a cross of the taxi and the local jeepney.
The tamaraw is also the mascot of the varsity teams of the Far Eastern University (FEU Tamaraws) in the University Athletics Association of the Philippines, and of the Toyota Tamaraws of the Philippine Basketball Association.
The Tamaraw Falls in Barangay Villaflor, Puerto Galera was also named after the bovine.