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 higher t ...

located in the province of

Davao Oriental Davao Oriental (; ), officially the Province of Davao Oriental (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is the city of Mati, Davao Oriental, Mati which is the most ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. 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 Endemism, endemic to forests in the Geography of ...

s and several species of ''

Nepenthes ''Nepenthes'' ( ) is a genus of carnivorous plants, also known as tropical pitcher plants, or monkey cups, in the monotypic family Nepenthaceae. The genus includes about 170 species, and numerous natural and many cultivated hybrids. They are m ...

''. Some of the latter, such as the '' Nepenthes peltata'' 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 1,100–1,635 m. ''Nepenthes micramphora'' is closely allie ...

'', are endemic to the area. The mountain has a protected forest area of approximately 2,000 hectares. This woodland is noted for its unique

pygmy forest A "natural National Park in the Philippines, a UNESCO World Heritage Site file:Mount Kemiri (8187817161).jpg, An elfin forest in Sumatra's Gunung Leuser National Park Dwarf forest, elfin forest, or pygmy forest is an uncommon ecosystem feat ...

of century-old trees in ultramafic soil, 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, funga, or features of geolog ...

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

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

, becoming the first in

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

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 (DENR; ) is the Executive Departments of the Philippines, executive department of the Philippine government responsible for the conservation, management, development, and proper use of the cou ...

, 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 lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

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

dipterocarp forest Dipterocarpaceae is a family of flowering plants with 22 genera and about 695 known species of mainly lowland tropical forest trees. Their distribution is pantropical, from northern South America to Africa, the Seychelles, India, Indochina, Indo ...

with 338 species,

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

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. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth ...

, 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 genus of shrubs and trees in the myrtle family Myrtaceae described as a genus in 1863. They have a wide distribution in Southeast Asia, New Guinea, New Caledonia and Australia.Govaerts, R., Sobral, N., Ashton, P., Barrie, F ...

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

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 co ...

'') * ''

Nepenthes hamiguitanensis ''Nepenthes hamiguitanensis'' is a tropical pitcher plant endemism, endemic to a single peak on the Philippines, Philippine island of Mindanao, where it grows at elevations of 1,200–1,600 m above sea level. Once thought to be a natural hyb ...

''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 peltata'' * ''

Schizaea inopinata ''Schizaea'' is a small genus of specialized ferns in the family Schizaeaceae. Common names include curlygrass fern and comb fern. Some species are very small and inconspicuous, and so may often be overlooked in nature. The genus is distinctive ...

'' * '' Schizaea malaccana'' * ''

Paphiopedilum ciliolare ''Paphiopedilum ciliolare'' is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It is known commonly as the short haired paphiopedilum. It is endemic to the Philippines. This is a rare orchid with a total wild population of fewer ...

'' * '' 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 ''Dilochia deleoniae'' is a species of orchid endemic on Mindanao island in the Philippines. It is the third species of ''Dilochia'' known from the Philippines. ''Dilochia deleoniae'' was discovered in 2016 by Danilo Tandang, and it was describe ...

'' * '' Lindsaea hamiguitanensis'' * '' Ceratostylis latipetala'' * '' Bulbophyllum colubrimodum''

Animals

The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

(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 an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological sp ...

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 only 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 foun ...

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

(''Pithecophaga jeffreyi'') *

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 endemism, endemic to the Philippines. Since its description in 1831, three subspecies of the giant golden-crowned flyi ...

(''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 archip ...

(''Tarsius syrichta'') * Philippine warty pig (''Sus philippensis'') * Philippine brown deer (''Cervus mariannus'') * Fischer's pygmy fruit bat (''Haplonycteris fischeri'') * Asian palm civet (''Paradoxurus hermaphroditus'') * Tawitawi brown-dove (''Phapitreron cinereiceps'') * Tarictic hornbill (''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 by President

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010. She is the longest-serving president ...

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 served as the president pro tempore of the Senate of the ...

. 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.

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

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