Animal Spotlight

December 2002

Tarsier Trivia

An interesting documentary was shown over National Geographic Channel sometime in Nov 2002. It featured the highly endangered and fast-disappearing Philippine Tarsiers; and 1 man's efforts to rope in some young conservationists to help save and protect these little 'spirits' of the forests from habitat loss, as well as the illegal pet trade.

The following are some bits and pieces of fascinating facts that were extracted from the documentary for the benefit of all VRs, provided by our VR Gim Seng ( in his email dated Wed, 13 Nov 2002 ). For those who have deleted or lost that email, here are the highlights : )

PHILIPPINE TARSIERS......

( HABITAT : Southern Philippines )

1) Have a special joint between the base of their skull connecting to the spine which allow them to turn their head around almost 360 degrees ! Handy because their eyes are fixed in their sockets !

2) Have the largest eyes among primates relative to the head size.

3) Have directional hearing because they can swivel their ears towards the source of sounds.

4) Long slender fingers ideal for grasping tree trunks and branches.

5) Can leap almost 2 meters !!

6) Are nocturnal animals, need darkness and solitude. Exposure to sunlight, humans and noises are extremely stressful to them. Animals kept in captivity and displayed in broad daylight are said to "commit suicide" ( Poor things ! )

7) Solitary and are most active at dusk and dawn.

8) Primary food is insects and they travel up to 1.5km nightly to hunt. Such a distance is considered far for a small animal. The energy required means that they need at least 7- 8 insects each night for sustenance.

9) Habitat range for males is about 6.5 hectares of forest, and is smaller for females. This is considered huge for their size. The male's range overlap some females suggesting that he mates with several females.

10) Mate only once a year and have 1 baby at a time. The male has to chase the female all around until she relents and finally accept his "lovemaking" which is very brief ( for all that trouble ! ). After that, she gets cold and pushes him away ! ( hmmm........tot only guys are like that....... )

11) Females give birth to LARGE babies, it's amazing how they do that and survive. The babies are born with BLUE eyes ! The eyes turn brown as they grow older.

12) Mommy carries the baby around for the first few days like a cat would, in her jaws. Then she would leave her baby at a safe place while she goes hunting. She would eventually bring home live insects in order to train her youngster to hunt.

13) Baby is vulnerable to all sorts of predators and especially MALE tarsiers. They behave just like the large cats and will kill the offspring of other males to drive the females into heat again. The male will chew up baby's neck in order to kill it ( how awful... ).

14) Tarsiers were once mistaken by farmers as rodents that eat their crops. Farmers who used the slash and burn method of farming observed that the tarsiers would leap onto the ground covered by ashes left from burning. Not realising that the tarsiers were just catching insects, they thought that tarsiers eat charcoals ! Many pet tarsiers were fed charcoals and needless to say, they died.

15) Once hunted extensively in the Philippines for the exotic pet market, the government of Philippines has now declared it a protected species.

16) Recent studies show that extinction is a grim possibility for these animals. They face the threat of deforestation, slow reproduction rates and introduced predators such as cats.

17) One way to help them is to protect pockets of secondary forests, and plant trees that attract insects which are their main food. There are many species of such trees being identified.

18) There's a myth that says tarsiers can SMILE :) It is all because of the shape of their jaws. The next time you see them, look closely at the shape of their mouths.................the jaw is shaped like that in order to fit in their predatory teeth that's why !

Tarsier With the year 2002 coming to an end, Animal Spotlight takes a look at 1of the only 2 species of 'primitive' primate inhabitants at Night Safari.
	Animal Name: Tarsier (or devil monkey) Scientific Name: Tarsius syrichta Range: Southeast Asia, Sumatra, Borneo, and the Philippines Habitat: Lives among trees with slender stems and branches Diet: Mainly insects, will kill nestlings and small birds
Life Span: Up to 12 years.	Social structure: In pairs or in small family groups.
Conservation/status: Endangered species, suffers from habitat loss and are victims of illegal pet trade. Remarks: One of the smallest monkey in the world, gets its name from the word ‘tarsus" meaning anklebone. It has elongated tarsus that enables it to leap up to 2m in distance. It catches prey by jumping on them and seizing them with its ‘hands’. For further information about Tarsiers, check out the following websites that are dedicated Tarsier Conservation in the Phlippines ! The Philippine Tarsier Foundation, Inc. ( PTFI ) - http://www.bohol.net/PTFI/main.htm The Philippine Tarsier Foundation - http://www.philippinetarsier.org/

Acknowledgements - General Facts on the Tarsier from Wildlife Fact Files and source websites, Photo from Night Safari, while Tarsier Trivia is extracted from the above mentioned documentary.

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