Distribution

The tamaraw was first documented in 1888 on the island of Mindoro. Before 1900, most people avoided settling on Mindoro due to a virulent strain of malaria.^[8] However, as anti-malarial medicine was developed, more people settled on the island. The increase in human activity has drastically reduced tamaraw population. By 1966 the tamaraw's range was reduced to three areas: Mount Iglit, Mount Calavite and areas near the Sablayan Penal Settlement. By 2000, their range was further reduced to only two areas: the Mounts Iglit–Baco National Park and Aruyan.^[8]
Initial estimates of the Bubalus mindorensis population on Mindoro was placed at around 10,000 individuals in the early 1900s. Less than fifty years later in 1949, the population had dwindled to around a thousand individuals. By 1953, fewer than 250 animals were estimated to be alive.^[9] These population estimates continually grew smaller until the IUCN publication of their 1969 Red Data Book, where the tamaraw population was noted to be an alarmingly low 100 heads.^[10] This head count rose to 120 animals in 1975.^[11] Current estimates place the wild tamaraw population from thirty to two hundred individuals.^[3]