Lone captive tamaraw named Kalibasib dies in Mindoro

The lone captive tamaraw named Kalibasib (Kalikasang Bagong Sibol) passed away on Saturday, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Kalibasib or “Kali” died at around 2:30 p.m. at the Tamaraw Gene Pool Farm in Barangay Manoot, Rizal, Occidental Mindoro.

According to DENR, Kali had diarrhea on Friday but was still eating then. On Saturday, he ate bananas mid-morning.

Kali was the sole progeny of the said farm.

He was born on June 24, 1999, making him 21 years old at the time of his death. Kali is thus the longest living tamaraw on record, the DENR said.

The estimated life span of a tamaraw is from 20 to 25 years old.

In human age, Kali is 84, the DENR said, since the age of tamaraws is multiplied by four to get the equivalent in human age.

In 2019, Doc Ferds of “Born To Be Wild” visited Kali in Mindoro, his second visit since the first one in 2008 for a checkup of Kali and his mother. Kali’s mother already died. 

The tamaraw’s once dwindling numbers led to the creation of the gene pool, where experts hoped to breed Kalibasib’s kind. —KG, GMA News