[10] The name "Kitanglad" was derived from a legend that there was once a great flood that submerged the native lands of Bukidnon and only the tip of the mountain, the size of a "tanglad" (lemon grass), remained visible ("kita" in Visayan).

However, according to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau Lands Geological Survey Division, it was previously known as Mount Alanguilan, from an 1850 sketch of a Moro encampment in the summit overlooking the "Rio de Cumaycay", which is the Kumaykay River in Dahilayan, Manolo Fortich.

[12] On November 9, 2000, Mount Kitanglad finally became a full-fledged protected area when Congress approved Republic Act 8978 also known as the "Mt.

[15] Mount Kitanglad hosts over 600 rare and endemic species, including the Philippine tarsier and the Rafflesia schadenbergiana, the world's second largest flower.

[16] Other endemic species that are found here are the pygmy fruit bat Alionycteris paucidentata and two native mice, Katanglad shrew-mouse and Gray-bellied mountain rat.