In contrast to the carabao, the tamaraw has a number of distinguishing characteristics; it is slightly hairier, has light markings on its face, is not gregarious, and has shorter horns that are somewhat V-shaped.

[5][6] In fact, fossil finds in the 20th century have shown that B. mindorensis was once found on the northern Philippine island of Luzon during the Pleistocene.

[7] As a member of the family Bovidae, the tamaraw's close affinity to the water buffalo (B. bubalis) has been validated many times in the past.

[9] The tamaraw was originally described as Anoa mindorensis by French zoologist Pierre Marie Heude in 1888.

The term tamaraw may have come from tamadaw, which is a probable alternative name for the banteng (Bos javanicus).

Most of the members of the species also have a pair of gray-white strips that begins from the inner corner of the eye to the horns.

Due to the regular rubbing, the tamaraw's horns have a worn outer surface, but with rough inner sides.

[1] As a rare, endemic mammal on a relatively secluded island, the ecology of the tamaraw is largely unknown.

Since human habitation and subsequent forest fragmentation of their home island of Mindoro, the habitat preferences of the tamaraw have somewhat expanded to lower-altitude grassy plains.

Only juveniles exhibit the typical bovine herding behavior and clan hierarchy often seen in water buffalo.

[20] Similar to other bovines the tamaraw wallows in mud pits, maybe to avoid biting insects.

Enough data were gathered on the tamaraw population by 1986,[24] and the IUCN conservation monitoring center declared the species endangered.

In the 1930s, the introduction of non-native cattle on the island caused a severe rinderpest epidemic among the tamaraw population then numbering in the thousands.

The most major factor threatening survival of B. mindorensis is habitat loss due to infrastructure development, logging, and agriculture.

[1][4] Due to the decline of the B. mindorensis population, various Philippine laws and organizations have been created towards the conservation of the species.

The act specifically prohibited killing, hunting, and even merely wounding tamaraws, with an exception noted for self-defense (if one were to be attacked by an agitated individual) or for scientific purposes.

The project was also not improved as the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau showed that the tamaraws were already breeding in the wild.

Cloning was not implemented for conservation as the Department of Environment and Natural Resource argued that such measures would diminish the genetic diversity of the species.

While commercial trade in the species is prohibited, exchange for noncommercial reasons, such as scientific research, is allowed.

[34][35] The 2002 Presidential Proclamation 273 set October as a "Special Month for the Conservation and Protection of the Tamaraw in Mindoro.".

[36][37] As of April 2019, according to June Pineda, Tamaraw Conservation Program coordinator of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the latest count at Mounts Iglit-Baco National Park in Occidental Mindoro showed 466 to 494 tamaraws, lower than 2018’s 523 animals.

[38] While not as heavily exploited as other large, endangered mammals, the tamaraw population was subject to some harvesting pressure from subsistence hunters before conservation efforts were spurred towards the latter half of the 20th century.

An image of the animal is featured on a Flora and Fauna Series 1 peso coin released from 1983 to 1994.

692 was enacted to make October 1 a special working holiday in the province of Occidental Mindoro.