The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines and Takbo.ph will be holding a virtual race this October to celebrate World Animal Day and the National Tamaraw Month.
In a news release, WWF said the virtual race is dubbed "At Home for A Home: Run for Biodiversity Virtual Run and Ride Series."
Unlike outdoor road races, the virtual race sets a target distance which participants can complete either through indoor running or biking at their own pace during the race period.
"Runners who successfully finish the race will receive an exclusive finishers’ kit, which includes a certificate, dri-fit shirt, and medal," WWF said.
Takbo.ph said, "we support WWF-PH in helping raise targeted funds with the WWF-PH National Youth Council for the Tamaraw Society of the PH Parks and Biodiversity, in response to the #TogetherForTamaraws campaign by the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) Philippines."
"In normal circumstances, runners and cyclists love the freedom to run or ride outdoors and be one with nature. The same should be true with our wildlife—they should enjoy running or swimming freely in their habitats too,” it added.
For registration details, log on to http://bit.ly/wwfvirtualride or bit.ly/wwfvirtualrun.
Tamaraws of Mindoro
According to Animal Diversity Web (ADW), tamaraws can only be found in three game refuges in Mindoro, Philippines.
The game refuges, covering an area of about 200,000 hectares, were created by the Philippine Parks and Wildlife Office in 1969.
"Tamaraws are distinguished from related buffalo by their smaller stature and straight horns," ADW said, adding that tamaraws are largely solitary and are "described as being aggressive towards humans."
ADW said tamaraws, which have an average life span of 28 years, are listed as "CR C1" or critically endangered with an observed decline of 80 percent over the last 10 years.
"Their numbers have declined from an estimated 10,000 in 1900 to approximately 20 to 200 individuals today, making this species one of the rarest mammals in the world," ADW said.
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