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
BirdLife International - Mindoro Bleeding-heart https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/mindoro-bleeding-heart-gallicolumba-platenae













