CreatureData

Tamaraw

Bubalus mindorensis Heude, 1888

CRCritically Endangeredmammals

The tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis), also called the Tamarau or Mindoro dwarf buffalo, is a mammal of the family Bovidae, subfamily Bovinae and tribe Bovini. It is a large, terrestrial herbivore with a cathemeral activity pattern, and adults weigh 233.3 kg, with values up to 243.9 kg reported.

Tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis)
Photo: LaDez · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the tamaraw

The IUCN Red List classifies the tamaraw as Critically Endangered, a threatened category.

Weight
233.3 kg – 243.9 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
28 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Herbivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Gestation
276 days – 314 dayssrc for Gestation
Young per litter or clutch
1src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
2.07 yearssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
0.75src for Litters or clutches a year
Active
Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Photos of the tamaraw

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis)
Julan Shirwod Nueva · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis)
Credit at source · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the tamaraw live?

Not recorded

What is the tamaraw?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The tamaraw or Mindoro dwarf buffalo (Bubalus mindorensis) is a small buffalo belonging to the family Bovidae. It is endemic to the island of Mindoro in the Philippines, and is the only endemic Philippine bovine. It is believed, however, to have once also lived on the nearby island of Luzon. The tamaraw was originally found throughout Mindoro, from the coast to over 2000 metres above sea level in the mountains, but because of hunting and habitat loss, it is now restricted to a few remote grassy plains and is a critically endangered species.

Contrary to common belief and past classification, the tamaraw is not a subspecies of the water buffalo, nor is it a subspecies of the slightly larger carabao, which is classified as a subspecies of the water buffalo. In contrast to the carabao, the tamaraw has a number of distinguishing characteristics; it is slightly hairier, has light markings on its face, is not gregarious, and has shorter horns that are somewhat V-shaped. It is the second-largest native terrestrial mammal in the country after the carabao.

From the Wikipedia article “Tamaraw” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tamaraw&oldid=1375346923), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the tamaraw endangered?

The tamaraw is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Critically Endangered species.

How is the tamaraw classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderArtiodactyla
  5. familyBovidae
  6. genusBubalus
  7. SpeciesBubalus mindorensis Heude, 1888

Synonyms Anoa mindorensis, Anoa mindorensis, Bubalus mindorensis

Other names and names in other languages (11)
  • Mindoro dwarf buffaloEnglish
  • Mindoro dwarf buffaloEnglish
  • TamarauEnglish
  • TamarauEnglish
  • TamarouEnglish
  • TamarouEnglish
  • TaumarauEnglish
  • TaumarauEnglish
  • MindorobüffelGerman
  • Mindoro-BüffelGerman
  • Búfalo de MindoroSpanish

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the tamaraw

Other species in the same genus Bubalus.

CompareTamaraw vs Water buffaloTamaraw vs Wild water buffaloTamaraw vs Lowland anoaTamaraw vs Short-horned water buffalo

Common questions

Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.

What kind of animal is the tamaraw?

The tamaraw is a mammal in the family Bovidae, belonging to the genus Bubalus within the tribe Bovini.

How heavy is a tamaraw?

An adult Tamaraw weighs 233.3 kg, and values up to 243.9 kg have been reported.

What does the tamaraw eat?

The tamaraw is a herbivore.

Is the tamaraw endangered?

Yes. The IUCN Red List classifies the tamaraw as Critically Endangered, which is a threatened category.

How long does a tamaraw live?

The tamaraw has a lifespan of 28 years.

How many young does a tamaraw have?

A tamaraw has 1 young per litter, with 0.75 litters per year, after a gestation period of 302.9 days.

Who named the tamaraw?

The tamaraw was named Bubalus mindorensis by Heude, 1888.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/tamaraw

MLA

“Tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/tamaraw.

BibTeX
@misc{tamaraw_2026,
  title = {Tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/tamaraw},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}