Samar Natural Park
| Samar Natural Park | |||
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| Location: | Philippines | ||
| Specialty: | Samar provinces , Northern Samar , Eastern Samar | ||
| Next city: | Borongan City , Calbayog City | ||
| Surface: | 3333.00 km² | ||
| Founding: | August 13, 2003 | ||
The Samar Natural Park is located on Samar Island , in the territory of the provinces of Samar , Northern Samar , Eastern Samar , Philippines . It was established on August 13, 2003 on an area of 333,300 hectares surrounded by a 125,400 buffer zone and was established in accordance with the guidelines of NIPAS Act 7586. It includes the areas of Sohoton Natural Bridge National Park , Jicontol Watershed Forest Reserve, Taft Forest Philippine Eagle Wildlife Sanctuary, Calbiga Caves Protected Landscape.
The nature reserve is located in the center of the island of Samar and includes the headwaters of the Catubig and Sohoton Rivers. It includes the last major rainforest stocks on the island. The nature park is mostly located in a hilly landscape and rises in the northern center to 850 meters above sea level. The climate in the area is tropical and humid without a pronounced dry period, the driest months are from November to February. The coolest month is January, 26.8 ° C, the warmest month is May with an average temperature of 28.8 ° C. The Samar Island Biodiversity Project (SIBP) started its work in April 2011. Its aim is to raise awareness about nature conservation and the rights of the local population.
The reserve is home to a wide range of the flora and fauna of the Philippines. On the flatter mountain slopes, there are intensive flatland rainforests, which, however, were subject to heavy forestry use in the past. Other areas are covered with bush and grasslands in the nature park, some of which are also used for agriculture in the nature reserve. The ecosystems of the nature park include 974 species of plants, the 436 genera and 131 families belong to the largest flowering plant in the Philippines, which from the kind of the rafflesia associated Rafflesia manillana belongs. 34 species of amphibians have been registered, 13 of which are endemic . Of the avifauna , observations of the Philippine eagle ( Pithecophaga jefferyi ), the red-eared owl ( Mimizuku gurneyi ), the fire hornbill ( Buceros hydrocorax ) and another 144 species from 45 genera are known.