National Parks in Mindanao
You will find here information on all National Parks in Mindanao.
See also:
National Parks in Luzon
National Parks in Visayas
Mt. Apo National Park
Mt Apo National Park has a total area of 72,113 ha and towering at the height of 2,954 m that makes it the highest peak of the country. It was declared as a National Park in 1936. This dormant volcano is situated between the province of Davao del Sur and Northern Cotabato, this park is blessed with geysers, hot springs, surfur pillars, lakes, rivers and water falls. It serves as a dwelling place for 629 species of flora and numerous species of fauna. Some of the plants that can be found in the area are the 148 families of vascular and non vascular plants, and the 124 families of ferns, angiosperms and the others are species belonging to families of bryophytes. The diversity of faunas includes 227 vertebrates with 69 families of amphibians and 118 species of butterflies.
The mountain serves as a bird sanctuary. There are falconet, mynah, Philippine eagle (Philippine National Bird), white-browed shortwing, the Philippine trogon, the yellow-bellied whistler, the island flycatcher, and little pied flychatcher which can also be found in some parts of Luzon and in Palawan. Also seen in the area are birds that exist in the highlands of Luzon such as strong-billed shrike, strong-billed shrike, the Philippine bullfinch, skull of white-cheeked bullfinch. The presence of firecrest , snowy-browed flychatcher, black-and cinnamon fantail and cinnamon Ibon were also noted in the primary forest area.
Mt. Apo serves as a dwelling place for butterflies. There is an abundance of butterflies in the are: the grass yellow butterfly, blue triangle butterfly, day butterfly, tailed jay butterfly as well as the five endemic species of butterflies: Father schoenig’s chocolate or Parantica schoenigi; Delias lecicki; D. schoenigi; D. apoensis; and D. woodi.
Also dwells here are bats, civet cats, deer, rats, squirrels, ungulates, shrews, and gymnures. There are also four endemic animals here: These are Mindanao montane forest mouse; Philippine tree shrew; Philippine tree squirrel; Mindanao gymnure or Mindanao moonrat, and the Philippine gymnure, which belongs to family hedgehogs. Philippine deer is the most threatened mammal in the area.
Numerous varieties of reptiles and amphibians are present in the forest. Some of the reptiles that found in the area are the burrowing skinks of the genus Brachymeles, the Cuming's eared skink, the family of Lygosoma, which is rare to find and water monitor lizard.
Number of frog species are also present which include the Philippine woodland frog (an endangered species), the broad hearted forest frog, the horned forest frog, pelobaticd frog, the Mueller's toad, the Mindanao toad, flatheaded frog, the montane narrow-mouthed frog. Due to the scarcity of freshwater the population of these species increases slowly. Being the center of endemism in Mindanao it is a must to protect and preserve this park.
Lake Lanao National Park
Lake Lanao National Park borders the province of Lanao del Sur and west-central Mindanao. It has a total area of 34,700 ha. The north of the lake is swallowing and gradually goes deeper towards the south. The depth of the lake is ranging from 60 to 112 m. The lush vegetation is represented by abundance of reed-beds of cat tail species and large areas of water hyacinth there are also aquatic plants such as white waterlilies and ribbongrass. To protect the area with abundance of marine life this lake was declared as a national park and reserve under the bureau of Forestry.
Some of the marine species in the area are catfish, climbing perch, cyprinids, eels, goby, mudfish, tilapia, plasalit as well as freshwater shrimp and snails. Some cyprinids endemic to the lake are: ray-finned fish, baolan, spotted barb, longfin gunnel, black spot barb, red barb, manalak, bagbagan and palometa. The park is also home for a large number of waterfowl such as herons, ducks, geese, swams, coots, and rails. The area is known for deep sea fishing and boating, swimming and other outdoor activities.
Mt. Kitanglad Natural Park
Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park has a total land mass of 30,642 ha and an elevation of 2,938 m above sea level. Declared as a Natural Park in 1990, this forest park has a unique ecological characteristics, it has a wide diversity of flora and fauna, connected landscapes and a noted contribution to country’s economy and heritage. The mountain ranges covered most of the north-central portion of Bukidnon Plateau. Serves as a watershed for the province of Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental, the forest provides water for power generation, irrigation and domestic use of the community.
This vegetation plantation covered by lowland rainforest, mossy forest, grassland areas, brushlands and small portion of agricultural soil areas. It houses 58 species of mammals, including the 53 endemic species in the Philippines. There are gymnure, shrews, tree shrew, flying lemur, fruit bats, horseshoe bats, roundleaf bats, evening bats, mastiff bat, primates, squirrels, mice and rats, civets, pig, and deer. Also serve as a dwelling to numerous species of bird including the endangered endemic Philippine eagle, blue capped kingfisher, rufous-headed tailorbird, black-cinnamon fantail, cinnamon Ibon, apo myna, giant scops owl and the bukidnon woodcock.
The site has a well established trail to reach the apex of the mountain. Although the forest has a cold atmosphere, climbing the mountain is exhilarating due to numerous ascending trails that go as high up to 90°C and gorges.
Mt. Malindang National Park
The 53,262 ha Mt. Malindang was declared as a National Park and Watershed Reserve. Situated in the center of Misamis Occidental Province, the park covers a large range of eastern flanks of the mountain. Within the area are: Crater Lake, rainforest, mossy forest and pines and a large number of river system. The park is one of the important areas protected by laws. Here dwells wide number of montane habitat.
See also:
National Parks in Luzon
National Parks in Visayas
