Targeted camera trap survey reveals consistent overlap patterns of the critically endangered Bubalus mindorensis with Rusa marianna

The Philippine tamaraw, Bubalus mindorensis, is a critically endangered endemic bovine that lives alongside the Philippine deer (Rusa marianna) in Mts. Iglit-Baco Natural Park. Despite the current status of tamaraw as a threatened species, its behavior in the wild remains under documented. We report our observations from a targeted camera-trap survey (3,556 effective camera trap nights) conducted from 2016 to 2018. Specifically, we found consistent overlapping activity patterns (Δ = 0.65–0.67) of the two sympatric herbivores across the sampling period. The findings of the study contribute to the knowledge of the temporal niche partitioning of two important native mammal species in the Philippines.