Mount Hamiguitan is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

located in the province of

Davao Oriental Davao Oriental ( Cebuano: ''Sidlakang Dabaw''; tl, Silangang Davao), officially the Province of Davao Oriental, is a province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is city of Mati, and it borders the province of ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It has a height of . The mountain and its vicinity has one of the most diverse wildlife populations in the country. Among the wildlife found in the area are

Philippine eagle The Philippine eagle (''Pithecophaga jefferyi''), also known as the monkey-eating eagle or great Philippine eagle, is a critically endangered species of eagle of the family Accipitridae which is endemic to forests in the Philippines. It has br ...

s and several species of '' Nepenthes''. Some of the latter, such as the ''

Nepenthes peltata ''Nepenthes peltata'' is a tropical pitcher plant known only from the upper slopes of Mount Hamiguitan on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines.McPherson, S.R. 2009. ''Pitcher Plants of the Old World''. 2 volumes. Redfern Natural History Pro ...

'' and ''

Nepenthes micramphora ''Nepenthes micramphora'' is a tropical pitcher plant known only from Mount Hamiguitan on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. It is a highland plant growing at elevations of 1100–1635 m. ''Nepenthes micramphora'' is closely allied ...

'', are endemic to the area. The mountain has a

protected Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

forest area of approximately 2,000 hectares. This woodland is noted for its unique

pygmy forest In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a p ...

of century-old trees in

ultramafic soil Ultramafic rocks (also referred to as ultrabasic rocks, although the terms are not wholly equivalent) are igneous and meta-igneous rocks with a very low silica content (less than 45%), generally >18% MgO, high FeO, low potassium, and are composed ...

, with many endangered, endemic and rare species of flora and fauna. The Mount Hamiguitan range, with an area of , was declared a national park and a

wildlife sanctuary A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

in 2003. In 2014, the park was inscribed as a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

, becoming the first in

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

and the sixth in the

. Mount Hamiguitan is part of the Eastern Mindanao Biodiversity Corridor. Conservation of the mountain range is a multisectoral effort done involving the provincial government of Davao Oriental, the

Department of Environment and Natural Resources The Department of Environment and Natural Resources ( fil, Kagawaran ng Kapaligiran at Likas na Yaman, DENR or KKLY) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for governing and supervising the exploration, developmen ...

, local communities, and indigenous people.

Geography

Mount Hamiguitan is located in the province of

in the southeastern part of the island of

, Philippines. It occupies the land area within the political boundaries of Mati, San Isidro, and Governor Generoso.

Flora and fauna

Plants

Inventory of flora species in the mountain and its vicinity showed that its

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial ...

has the highest species richness of plants with 462 species, followed by its

dipterocarp forest Dipterocarpaceae is a family of 16 genera and about 695 known species of mainly tropical lowland rainforest trees. The family name, from the type genus ''Dipterocarpus'', is derived from Greek (''di'' = two, ''pteron'' = wing and ''karpos'' = fr ...

with 338 species,

mossy forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud c ...

with 246 species and agro-system with 246 species. The mountain also harbors 45 species of

orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

, 23 of which are endemic to the Philippines. Some of the plants commonly found on Mount Hamiguitan include the following: Nepenthes hamiguitanensis

* '' Leptospermum flavescens'' * '' Wendlandia nervosa'' * ''

Tristaniopsis micrantha ''Tristaniopsis'' is a group of shrub and tree in the myrtle family Myrtaceae described as a genus in 1863. They have a wide distribution in Southeast Asia, New Guinea, New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe ...

'' * ''

Dacrydium elatum ''Dacrydium elatum'' is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is found in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., ...

'' * '' Calophyllum blancoi'' * '' Symplocos polyandra'' * '' Almaciga'' (''Agathis philippinensis'') * '' Elaeocarpus verticillatus'' * '' Patersonia lowii'' * '' Astronia lagunensis'' * ''

Nepenthes alata ''Nepenthes alata'' (; from Latin ''alatus'' "winged") is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to the Philippines. Like all pitcher plants, it is carnivorous and uses its nectar to attract insects that drown in the pitcher and are digested by the pl ...

'' (''

sensu lato ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular c ...

'') * ''

Nepenthes hamiguitanensis ''Nepenthes hamiguitanensis'' is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to a single peak on the Philippine island of Mindanao, where it grows at elevations of 1200–1600 m above sea level. Once thought to be a natural hybrid between '' N. m ...

''Gronemeyer, T., A. Wistuba, V. Heinrich, S. McPherson, F. Mey & A. Amoroso 2010. ''Nepenthes hamiguitanensis'' (Nepenthaceae), a new pitcher plant species from Mindanao Island, Philippines. In: S.R. McPherson ''Carnivorous Plants and their Habitats''. Redfern Natural History Productions Ltd., Poole. pp. 1296–1305. * ''

Nepenthes justinae ''Nepenthes justinae'' is a tropical pitcher plant known only from Mount Hamiguitan on the Philippine island of Mindanao, where it grows at elevations of 1000–1620 m above sea level. The specific epithet ''justinae'' honours Justina Y ...

'' * ''

'' * '' Schizaea inopinata'' * '' Schizaea malaccana'' * '' Paphiopedilum ciliolare'' * '' Dipodium paludosum'' * ''Epigeneium'' sp. * '' Dendrochilum longilabre'' * '' Dendrochilum tenellum'' * ''Dendrochilum'' sp. (unknown species) * '' Macodes petola'' * '' Coelogyne chloroptera'' * ''Bulbophyllum'' sp. * ''Appendicula'' sp. * '' Gleichennia hirta'' * '' Drimys piperita'' * ''Hydnophyton'' sp. * '' Dilochia deleoniae'' * '' Lindsaea hamiguitanensis'' * '' Ceratostylis latipetala'' * '' Bulbophyllum colubrimodum''

Animals

The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of nat ...

(IUCN)

Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

has identified at least 11 endangered vertebrate species. The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources and Development (PCARRD) reported that the mountain is inhabited by five endangered species, 27 rare species, 44

endemic species Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

and 59 economically important species. The following species can be found in the area: *

(''Pithecop) *

Giant golden-crowned flying fox The giant golden-crowned flying fox (''Acerodon jubatus''), also known as the golden-capped fruit bat, is a species of megabat endemic to the Philippines. Since its description in 1831, three subspecies of the giant golden-crowned flying fox hav ...

(''Acerodon jubatus'') * Philippine forest roundleaf bat *

Philippine tarsier The Philippine tarsier (''Carlito syrichta''), known locally as ''mawumag'' in Cebuano and other Visayan languages, and ''magô'' in Waray, is a species of tarsier endemic to the Philippines. It is found in the southeastern part of the archi ...

(''Tarsius syrichta'') *

Philippine warty pig The Philippine warty pig (''Sus philippensis'') is one of four known species in the pig genus ('' Sus'') endemic to the Philippines. The other three endemic species are the Visayan warty pig (''S. cebifrons''), Mindoro warty pig (''S. oliveri'') ...

(''Sus philippensis'') *

Philippine brown deer The Philippine deer (''Rusa marianna''), also known as the Philippine sambar or Philippine brown deer, is a vulnerable deer species endemic to the Philippines. It was first described from introduced populations in the Mariana Islands, hence ...

(''Cervus mariannus'') * Fischer's pygmy fruit bat (''Haplonycteris fischeri'') *

Asian palm civet The Asian palm civet (''Paradoxurus hermaphroditus''), also called common palm civet, toddy cat and musang, is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. Since 2008, it is IUCN Red Listed as Least Concern as it accommodates to a broad rang ...

(''Paradoxurus hermaphroditus'') * Tawitawi brown-dove (''Phapitreron cinereiceps'') *

Tarictic hornbill ''Penelopides'' is the genus of relatively small, primarily frugivorous hornbills restricted to forested areas of the Philippines. Their common name, tarictic hornbills, is an onomatopoetic reference to the main call of several of them. They have ...

(''Penelopides panini'') * Grey-hooded sunbird (''Aethopyga primigenius'') * Giant scops-owl or Mindanao eagle-owl * Batomys hamiguitan (a yellow-brown furry-tailed rat species endemic to the area)

Designations

In 2004, Mount Hamiguitan was declared as a wildlife sanctuary through the ''Mount Hamiguitan Law'' which was enacted under the initiative of senator

Loren Legarda Lorna Regina "Loren" Bautista Legarda (born January 28, 1960) is a Filipina politician, environmentalist, cultural worker, and former journalist who is currently serving as a Senator and the president pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippine ...

. In June 2014, the Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary was added to the UNESCO list of

s. Prior to this, the site has already been declared an

ASEAN Heritage Park ASEAN Heritage Parks (AHP) are selected protected areas in the ASEAN region that are known for their unique biodiversity and ecosystems, wilderness and outstanding values in scenic, cultural, educational, research, recreational and tourism. Its vi ...

Notes

References

* Amoroso, V.B. & R.A. Aspiras 2011. Hamiguitan Range: a sanctuary for native flora. ''Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences'' 18(1): 7–15.

External links

* {{ASEAN Heritage Parks Hamiguitan Wildlife sanctuaries of the Philippines World Heritage Sites in the Philippines Landforms of Davao Oriental ASEAN heritage parks