Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park
The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (occasionally also Puerto Princessa ) in the Philippines was founded in 1971 and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999 . It covers 3901 ha and is surrounded by a protected buffer zone of 18,301 ha, as far as possible.
The world-famous tourist attraction is located 81 km or 3 hours by car northwest of the island's capital Puerto Princesa on Palawan near the fishing village of Sabang.
Flora and fauna
800 plant species from 100 families, including 295 tree species, mainly dipterocarpaces , make up most of the vegetation. She will u. a. 95 bird species (15 of which are endemic including the symbol of Puerto Princesa, the), Palawan Peacock-Pheasant ( Polyplectron emphanum , Family Gamebird ) inhabited. Also sunbirds as the Green-backed Sunbird ( Nectarina jugular aurora ) can be observed on flowers. They have gone through a convergent evolution analogous to the hummingbirds in America and are masters of the soaring flight , if not to the same extent. The palawan hornbill ( Anthracoceros marchei ) , which is also endemic, lives mainly in the treetops with its white tail fan. Be found in the waters shiny Philippine kingfishers , a kind of blue backed, yellow head and chest and bright orange red beak, the stork-billed kingfisher ( pelargopsis capensis ). The white-bellied sea eagle ( Haliaeetus leucogaster ) has its territory along the coastline. With its broad wings, white head and white chest, it can be seen from a great distance. Furthermore parrots live in the forests , e.g. B. the blue- necked parrot ( Tanygnathus lucionensis paraguenus ). The snow-white red- tailed cockatoo ( Cacatua haematuropygia , up to 30 cm) , with yellowish tail feathers and wing undersides, has become very rare , which was exported for a long time and whose population has now collapsed. A "speaking" bird popular in Asia, the Beo ( Gracula religiosa ), often irritates other birds by imitating calls, imitating cell phone ring tones, coughing and laughing, a few words and short sentences and can also be found in the national park.
41 species of butterflies, including the largest with a wingspan of 18 cm, the black, swallowtail- like Trogonoptera trojana (also Papilio trojano ) with bright green triangles on the rear edge of its wings and 23,779 species of insects, mollusks and arthropods inhabit the area.
Among the 30 known mammal species are the long-tailed macaque ( Macaca fascicularis ), which can often be found on the hiking trails and at the camp of the underground river, the nocturnal binturong or marten bear ( Arctitis binturong ) and the palawan squirrel ( Sundasciurus spec. ) With its bushy red tail , one of the two endemic species of the Sunda tree squirrel .
The white monitor monitor ( Varanus salvator ) can reach a length of up to 2 m and weigh 50 kg. His skin makes a coveted leather, which brought him to the brink of extinction. He is one of the 19 species of reptiles are, including the not particularly rare king - possibly spitting cobra ( Ophiophagus hannah respectively Well sputatrix and Well sumatrana ) and the reticulated python ( Python reticulatus belongs). In addition, 10 amphibian species inhabit the area.
At the tourist assembly points there are signs of the fauna and flora with the local and scientific names and some of the uses.
Sabang underground river
The main tourist attraction is the approximately 7 km long and at 4.2 km longest navigable underground river in the world, which flows under the massif of the Karst Mountains (a limestone interspersed with fissures and cavities ) with the 1027 m high Mt. St. Paul and then into the South China Sea flows. Only the first 1.2 km of the system are open to tourists; a special permit is also required. Geologists estimate the age at 23 million years.
A cathedral up to 45 m high was created by the collapsed overburden. The river is sometimes over 8 m deep, in many places stalagmites and stalactites , organ pipes, curtains and domes have formed.
In addition to swallows, an estimated 40,000 pipebats find their home here every day. The German biologist Hendrik Freitag from the Phyllodrome in Leipzig intensively investigated the entire system of the underground Cabayugan River (as it was called before entering the cave) in 2000/2001 and uncovered numerous new species of the Palawan freshwater fauna. Thus, the frequently encountered in the upper reaches of the river river crab, for example, (recently named as Parathelphusa Cabayugan ) a newly discovered endemic species. In the underground section of the river, a far only from the southern Japanese found Ryukyu islands known shrimp whose eye pigmentation in adaptation to the subterranean Environment is greatly reduced. The scientific description (publication of the new species status) of the insects is currently in progress. The results resulted in a doctoral thesis at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and can be viewed as an abstract.
Mangrove river Poyuy-poyuy
Numerous birds can be seen along the Poyuy-poyuy (also Sabang River ) mangrove belt in the very early morning or very late afternoon. In the tidal forest, mainly mangroves of the genus Rhizophora have settled on the flood line . Thick brown, spherical fruits hang from their branches, from which 50 cm long, spear-shaped seedlings sprout. The root system is important to counteract coastal erosion and also a previously completely underestimated ecological factor z. B. as a nursery for diverse life above and under water. So far, huge areas have been cleared thoughtlessly, mainly to build profitable shrimp farms in the short term. After the exploitation, barren desert landscapes are left on which no stable ecosystem can settle for decades and which is often populated by landless people as a result. In addition, many mangrove areas are being cut down to produce charcoal.
Mudskippers ( Periophtalmus chrysospilus ) live on the arched roots, which look like long, frozen spindle fingers, and in the branches and only descend at low tide. With their frog-like heads they rummage through the silt layer for food particles and also graze underwater algae from their base. With their curved tail, they can push themselves off the ground in a flash, which is where their name comes from. Their amphibious way of life is made possible by a sea water supply in the enlarged jaw area. You can refresh its oxygen content within limits by taking a breath. Further inhabitants of the foliage are the endemic subspecies of the yellow and olive to deep black striped mangrove night tree snakes ( Boiga dendrophila multicincta , Tagalog binturan). Younger specimens of the water monitor use the branches to rest. Groups of macaques occasionally cross the river over the canopy bridges.
caves
There are several large caves in the national park, such as B. the huge, cathedral-like Daylight Hole , also known as Penningshöhle. It is connected to at least one wide, approx. 50 m deep vertical shaft shortly after the inflow of the underground river, which is not permeable to people due to rubble and tree trunks.
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ UNESCO World Heritage Center: Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park. Retrieved on August 24, 2017 .
- ↑ Roland Hanewald: Philippines Adventure Handbook , pp. 137–141 (with sketches of the cave course and profiles after a Philippine-Australian expedition 1981/82), ISBN 3-923821-20-4
- ↑ Roland Hanewald: Philippines Adventure Manual , p. 138, ISBN 3-923821-20-4
- ↑ Abstract: Macroinvertebrate Assemblages in Streams of the St. Paul National Park, Palawan, the Philippines , Hendrik Freitag, 2004
Web links
Coordinates: 10 ° 10 ′ 0 ″ N , 118 ° 55 ′ 0 ″ E
Heritage: Baroque Churches of the Philippines (1993) | Rice Terraces in the Filipino Cordillera (1995) | Historical city of Vigan (1999)
Natural Heritage: Tubbataha Reef Natural Park (1993) | Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (1999) | Hamiguitan Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary (2014)