Mindoro, Philippines Photograph by Tom Brooks   Philippines: Island of Mindoro Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests   3,900 square miles (10,100 square kilometers) -- about half the size of Massachusetts Critical/Endangered

· The Dark Island
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
More Photos

The Dark Island

Outsiders call Mindoro the "dark island." This Philippine island earned this name because of a nasty strain of malaria that was once associated with it. Today, the dark island is a sad place for another reason. It is now one of the most severely deforested islands in all of the Philippines.

Special Features

The center of Mindoro Island is dominated by high rolling mountains, which rise to a maximum elevation of approximately 8200 feet (2500 m). Vegetation changes with elevation, with lowland evergreen rain forest dominating from sea level to approximately 1300 feet (400 m), open forest prevailing between 2130 to 3280 feet (650 to 1000 m), and mossy cloud forest characterizing the highest elevations. Only small patches of lowland evergreen dipterocarp rain forest remain, though they once dominated the eastern portions of the island. Semi-deciduous forest used to be prevalent on the western half of the island, but this too has been largely destroyed. Small stands of Mindoro pine are found at elevations up to 2000 feet (600 m) in the northern part of the island.

	The tamaraw may be relatively small, but it is strong and able to push through undergrowth and climb steep mountain slopes. Mindoro natives traditionally have feared the animal because of its aggressiveness.

Wild Side

Fourteen species of indigenous mammals are found on Mindoro. The most unusual animal is the critically endangered tamaraw, or dwarf water buffalo. The tamaraw is a cautious forest animal, standing just over 3 feet (1 m) tall at the shoulder. Mindoro also supports a population of the Philippine warty pig, which is considered rare and declining. Other mammals include an endemic subspecies of the Philippine deer, the critically endangered Illin hairy-tailed cloud rat, the endangered Mindoro shrew, and the more widespread but endangered golden-capped fruit bat. Two bird species, the Mindoro bleeding-heart and the black-hooded coucal, are also considered endangered. This island also contains one of the few protected populations of Philippine crocodiles.

Cause for Concern

Only the most rugged portions of the island’s central spine have been spared from commercial logging, although the remaining forests are still under pressure. Even in those eastern areas that have enjoyed some forest regrowth, poaching and slash-and-burn agriculture are ongoing threats to both wildlife and its habitat. On the western side, fires initially set to clear pastures have destroyed adjacent forests.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.