The tamaraw - a dwarf buffalo found only on one Philippine island - just got a PHP 3 million (about $48,000) lifeline

The tamaraw, a critically endangered dwarf buffalo found only on Mindoro Island in the Philippines, has new backing. The Toyota Motor Philippines Foundation has donated PHP 3 million (about $48,000) to the environment department's Tamaraw Conservation Program, formalized during this year's Tamaraw Fiesta in Calintaan, Occidental Mindoro. The funds will support habitat monitoring and scientific research, training for village and Indigenous Peoples volunteers, public-awareness work, and equipment for the Tamaraw Research and Conservation Center, with the Mindoro Biodiversity Conservation Foundation managing the fund. It builds on a 2024 agreement that launched the Next Generation Tamaraw program - corporate money, government science and local hands pulling for one little buffalo.