‘Kalibasib:’ A symbol of hope, inspiration
Onsidered as the last captivebred Philippine tamaraw, “Kalibasib” breathed his last on October 10.
CWith one blind eye and a limp in one leg, Kalibasib, or “Kalikasan Bagong Sibol,” could have died of old age.
At his age, “Kali,” as he was fondly called, could very well be the longestliving and perhaps the oldest Philippine tamaraw until he died. Kalibasib’s death was discovered around 2:30 p.m.
Born on June 24, 1999, Kalibasib was 21 when he died. Normally, a Philippine tamaraw could live up to 20 to 25 years.
A heartbreaking loss
Even though Kalibasib lived a full life at the Tamaraw Gene Pool Farm in Barangay Manoot in the municipality of Rizal in Occidental Mindoro, his heartbreaking demise was considered a big loss for the Tamaraw Conservation Program (TCP), officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said.
“It was unfortunate. Kalibasib has been with us since we started the captive-breeding program. He was the only progeny of our herd at the Tamaraw Gene Pool,” DENR Assistant Secretary Ricardo Calderon told the Businessmirror in an interview on October 12.
Neil Anthony del Mundo, assistant protected area superintendent of the Mounts Iglit-baco National Park (MIBNP) and TCP coordinator, said that over the years, forest rangers at the park, as well as communities around the protected area, have associated themselves with Kalibasib.
Cause of death
Dr. Mikko Angelo Reyes, a wildlife veterinarian who performed the necropsy on Kalibasib on October 16, said the iconic land mammal died of cardiac failure.
“Apparently, Kalibasib was also suffering from chronic liver failure. We found evidence of liver cirrhosis. His liver is dark, indicating his lingering ailment for five years,” Reyes told the Businessmirrror in an interview on October 21.
He said they will still conduct histopathology on Kalibasib’s heart, liver, kidney and lungs to thoroughly determine what caused the liver failure that led to the tamaraw’s demise.
Symbol of hope, inspiration
For many, Kalibasib was a symbol of hope and his very presence in the Tamaraw Gene Pool Farm for more than two decades has become an inspiration in the conservation of the species and the rest of Mindoro’s biodiversity.
Considered as the country’s most iconic land mammal, the Philippine tamaraw is endemic or known to exist only on the hinterlands of Mindoro Island, their last known habitat which is equally extremely vulnerable to various threats.
“Many people who don’t have the opportunity of seeing a live tamaraw has seen what the tamaraw looks like by simply visiting our gene pool because of Kalibasib,” del Mundo told the Businessmirror in an interview on October 19.
Best legacy
Asean Centre for Biodiversity Executive Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim said Kalibasib’s existence raised certain ethical questions on captive breeding, whether it is effective or not in contributing to the conservation of tamaraws.
“Having been born in captivity, Kalib has never seen his natural habitat and may not have survived if he were released. The best legacy he would have left is raising awareness on the plight of his wild relatives,” Lim, a former director of the DENR’S Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB), told the Businessmirror via Messenger on October 20.
For those who are not as fortunate to see tamaraws in the wild, Kalib provided the opportunity to bring the tamaraw closer to more people, Lim said.
“In a sense, he became an ambassador for his kind. His death should send a strong message to step-up efforts to conserve the tamaraw, otherwise his sad fate would have been in vain,” she added.
Preserving Kalibasib
Del Mundo said he has already contacted the National Museum of Natural History to preserve Kalibasib’s body.
“We are waiting for the National Museum experts to come to perform the taxidermy on Kalibasib. Because of
the travel restrictions brought about by the pandemic, we are keeping Kalibasib in a storage facility until they [museum experts] arrive here in Mindoro,” he said.
Del Mundo said the National Museum has yet to respond to the official request of Occidental Mindoro Gov. Eduardo Gadiano to perform the taxidermy on Kalibasib.
The decision to preserve Kalibasib, he said, is logical so that even though he is dead, the memory of Mindoro’s famous tamaraw will remain.
“We are also planning to bring Kalibasib in every town in Mindoro upon the request of local officials, because the people would really want to see Kalibasib. For one week maybe, we will allow the LGU [ local government unit] to keep Kalibasib so that the people in their town will be able to see him,” del Mundo said.
Public information, education
Del Mundo said after making the rounds, Kalibasib will be secured and showcased for public viewing at a museum to be built in the vicinity of the Tamaraw Gene Pool Farm.
This way, the tamaraw will continue to serve a higher purpose of educating the public about the importance of protecting and conserving the tamaraws.
Calderon, the concurrent director of BMB, agreed.
“It is only fitting to put him [Kalib] at the Tamaraw Gene Pool Farm, instead of capturing live tamaraws to replace him,” said Calderon, who also nixed the idea of reviving the tamaraw captive- breeding program.
Call to action
The Mindoro Biodiversity Conservation Foundation Inc. ( MBCFI) said the demise of Kalibasib should be considered a good reason for the government to strengthen the research on the species.
“We need to give the tamaraw the best chance of recovery because if our current efforts for the remaining 480 individuals in the wild are the same, [the species] will go extinct by 2050,” said MBCFI Executive Director Grace Diamante.
Regular funding for the TCP, she said, is needed to boost the ongoing conservation efforts for the tamaraw and their habitat in Mindoro.
“Through an administrative order, regular funding for the conservation of the tamaraw should be made available to hire more forest rangers,” she added.
The MBCFI is also pushing for the adoption of a management action plan for the conservation of the tamaraw, including the creation of a policymaking or governing body that will promote the welfare of the species and save them from extinction.
Extremely vulnerable
Kalibasib belong to an extremely vulnerable species. Scientifically called bubalus Mindorensis, the Philippine tamaraw, which is also known as the Mindoro dwarf buffalo.
It was listed as critically endangered by the DENR and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as early as 2000.
Only around 480 tamaraws were counted in the last count the DENR made at the MIBNP in 2019, although del Mundo said he believes there are other population of the wild tamaraw outside the MIBNP.
Expanding territories
Attrib uted to the effort to expand the coverage of the annual tamaraw count, Calderon said the number of buffalos counted ever y year continues to increase.
While the count is not proof of an increasing population, the fact that more juveniles have been counted over the years means the tamaraws are breeding successfully on their own in the wild.
“From the 1990s, the population of the tamaraws is steadily increasing. We intend to expand our coverage [of the annual count] because we received reports of sightings outside MIBNP,” Calderon said.
Still, he said other areas within MIBNP have not yet been covered by the annual count, which means that there may be more tamaraws out there than what is currently believed to be.
New population
A forestr y expert, Calderon said he believes there are more tamaraws deep in the forest of MIBNP and, possibly, in other mountainous areas nearby.
“We learned and verified from our people on the ground that there are tamaraws on nearby Mount Calavite, a protected area near MIBNP,” Calderon said.
The tamaraws are somewhere in the hinterlands of Mount Calavite within the Mount Calavite National Park, also on Mindoro Island.
“The tamaraw in nearby [Mount] Calavite are stocky and slightly bigger,” Calderon said. He said this could be because there are less tamaraw inhabiting the area, which means there is less competition for food among the herd.
Captive-breeding part 2?
Del Mundo confirmed the newly discovered population in Mount Calavite.
As coordinator of the TCP, he said he intends to include some areas in MCNP in the tamaraw count next year.
He also disclosed that they are in talks with experts from various international conservation advocacy groups and scientific bodies for a study of the tamaraw population on Mount Calavite and to determine the prospects of starting anew a captive- breeding program for Mindoro’s dwarf buffalo.
“The population there is small and may need a boost,” said del Mundo partly in Filipino.
He said a proposal from DENR partners for the study has been presented to the DENR-BMB prior to Kalibasib’s demise.
Way forward
For Calderon, however, the Tamaraw Conservation Program is already succeeding and a capt ive breeding- prog ram i s not l ikely going to happen for now.
He said strengthening the program means strengthening the conservation effort of the species and their natural habitats.
To better protect the Mounts Iglit- Baco National Park and other protected areas in general, he said the DENR- BMB is seeking for an additional P50- million budget for biodiversity conservation— including programs to combat illegal wildlife trade and protecting areas set aside for conservation
“The tamaraws are better lef t breeding on thei r own in thei r natural habitat,” he said.