Physical and esthetic features:

c          Parking area for vehicles

c          Visitors’ center with courtesy booth and restrooms

c          Souvenir shops for Loon-made products

c          Boardwalk over nipa and mangrove swamps

c          Platforms for feeding the macaques (by caretakers only)

c          Playing area for the crab-eating mangrove monkeys

c          Maximum of about twenty (20) head of monkeys especially during the early-morning feeding

c          Protected population of naturally growing mangrove trees

c          Appearance of natïve bird and butterfly species especially when the monkeys are away

c          Endemic population of mudskippers, fiddler crabs and other marine organisms

c          Mid-afternoon high-pitched droning of cicadas (“gangis”)

Meanwhile, a species of crab-eating monkeys inhabiting the barangay’s pristine mangrove forest may as yet trigger the business acumen of the local residents as the primates have become a tourist attraction and their habitat a showcase for environmental conserveation. This early, some enterprising residents have produced macaque-inspired t-shirts for their “monkey-business”.

According to Wikipedia, macaques belong to the subfamily Cercopithecinae.  Although native to Asia and Northern Africa, thousands of them are housed in research facilities, zoos, wildlife or amusement parks, and are kept as pets in private homes throughout the world, making them the most widely distributed genus of nonhuman primates.

Considered as true monkeys, these animals have a very intricate social structure and hierarchy. If a macaque of lower status in the social chain has eaten berries and there are none left for a higher-level macaque, the latter can, within this social organization, remove the berries from the former’s mouth.

Macaques, especially Macaca mulatta and Macaca fascicularis, are commonly used in research, most recently in Aids research. Their coloration includes gray, brown or black fur. They tend to be heavily built and medium to large in stature. Males and females may differ in weight, body size and canine (tooth) size. The species found in Cantomucad is Macaca fascicularis philippinensis.

Giving food to the animals is strictly the task of the caretakers and is done at certain times of the day.  

Loon Macaques also features a well-protected mangrovetum or mangrove garden the species of which have been identified by the Bohol Environment Management Office. It has a receiving area and a boardwalk. There are no food service facilities available because the monkeys are sensitive to the smell of food.
 

▪       Do not monkey around or make unnecessary noise.

▪       Do not throw your garbage anywhere.

▪       Do not feed the monkeys; our caretakers will do it or you.

▪       Do not throw anything at the monkeys.

▪       Do not smoke, eat or drink within the macaques habitat.

▪       Do not cut or bend the branches of trees.

▪       Do not hunt for any wildlife.

▪       Do not sneak into the boardwalk from any illegal access.

▪       Do not stay on the boardwalk for more than 30 minutes.

For detailed information, please contact:

Municipal Tourism Action Officer

(038) 5059131

Joermelyne Perez

Manager, Loon Macaques

09487189616

Other Eco-Cultural Tourist Destinations of Loon

 §      Cabilao dive sites - underwater gardens of soft and hard corals, hammerhead sharks, fishes, and    pygmy seahorses

§      Fish sanctuaries of Cabacungan, Basdacu and Song-on

§      Cabilao Island Lake - migratory birds, mangrove fringes, boardwalk, viewing decks

§      Green Footprint Lagoon - seaweed lakebed, red shrimp habitat

§      Sand bars and white beaches of Pantudlan, Looc, Cambaquiz, Basdacu and Basdio (Rock Island Cove)

§      Production area & showroom of Cabilao’s mat and bag weavers

§      Mangrove islets in Tajang Pass

§      Mangrove Ecosystem Research & Dev’t Center (ongoing construction)

§      Moalong River and Watershed (Jungle Trail)

§      Mount Canmanoc and Mount Tan-awan

§      30 karst caves of Cantam-is Baslay

§      Danicop Hidden Valley in Ticugan (jungle, waterfalls)

§      Pi-ong Falls (Nagtuang - Canmaag boundary)

§      Kabantian Falls (Nagtuang – Bongco boundary)

§      Loon Church Complex: Our Lady of Light Church (1864); Inang-angan - 5-flight, 212-step
coral-stone stairway; Morada – hexagonal mortuary kiosk (Spanish period); Cementerio de Mamposteria – Spanish-era graveyard; Christ the King Monument; “Hugosan” - church gate and platform for Easter rites; Grotto – reproduction of the cave in Lourdes, France where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Bernadette

§      Loon Public Plaza – art deco promenade (circa 1929)

§      Ferandos House – historical American-era chalet (pre-war)

§      Sombria Bridge – most elevated coral-stone bridge in Bohol

§      Tubig-Loon Spring – place where freshwater and sea water meet, or “Tubig nga nag-loon”, after which the town was named

§      Punta Baluarte Eco-Museum in Pantudlan, Cabilao Island

§      Cabilao lighthouses – one with a spiral staircase and another which is powered by solar energy

§       Center for Developments in Culture, Heritage & the Arts (Charts

For more information, please contact:

Office of the Mayor

*: LGU-Loon, Bohol 6327 Philippines

TelFax: 038-505-9131

Mobile Phone: 09209012918

For further inquiry, please visit our website at www.loon.gov.ph or send your message to

e*: doc_lloyd@yahoo.com