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Maya had studied about tarsiers in class at the International School of Manila. She did a picture of a tarsier that adorns our refrigerator. She was really looking forward to the possibility of holding a tarsier. As you can see, her wish came true in Bohol. |
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Tarsiers are one of the smallest primates in the world. The Filipinos call them the smallest monkey, but I am not sure if they are technically a monkey. As they are nocturnal, they have huge eyes. They looked like little gremlins. They just fit in your hands. |
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Note that the tarsier on Denny's shoulder is looking backwards. They cannot move their eyes, but they can turn their heads a full 180º to see behind them. |
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Tarsiers at first appear to be slow moving, docile animals. Do you see their long hind legs? We were startled when we were holding them and they would suddenly jump 6-8 feet through the air. That is how they travel through the trees. |
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The tarsiers we saw were semi-tame. At night they return to the forest, but, during the day, they live in a shelter maintained by a family who feeds them crickets - the principal item in their diet. They are now extremely rare as they live only on the islands of Bohol and Samar in the Philippines. Most of their forest habitat has been destroyed. |
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