The Motorbike Diaries: Part 2—The Tarsier

The Lonely Planet introduces it well: “What’s cute, creepy, and looks like the illegitimate offspring of an ill advised drunken one night stand between a Gremlin and ET?

The tarsier—and we got to meet one.

Tarsiers are hot in Bohol—everyone wants to see one. We fell prey to the same fever, but decided we wanted to see it in its native habitat at the Tarsier Sanctuary, rather than in captivity like many of the other places that offer the tarsier as a tourist attraction. Some of these places keep them in cages. Apparently, tarsiers are more sensitive to captivity than other primates and there have been reports of them committing suicide by banging their heads against fences, drowning themselves in their water bowls, or simply dying from disease.

A few facts about tarsiers: Tarsiers are not monkeys, though they’re often claimed as “The smallest monkey in the world!” They are primates though—belonging to the same family as lemurs and chimpanzees. They’re not the smallest primate either—that title belongs to the pygmy mouse lemur. That doesn’t make them any less cool.

The pygmy mouse lemur--obviously a close relative

Tarsiers are native to Southeast Asia and found on several islands including the Philippines, Celebes, Borneo, and Sumatra. They’re about 3.5-6 inches long, and their tails are about twice that and good for balancing when they leap from branch to branch. They have disc-like sticky pads on their hands and feet which help them cling to the trees they dwell in. They’re nocturnal, which explains their enormous eyes, and they are carnivorous, eating mostly eat insects like spiders, crickets and grasshoppers, though they have been known to eat small lizards and birds. The females typically only reproduce one offspring per year; their gestation takes about six months.

Why are they endangered? Tarsiers face similar problems as marsupials in Australia. Feral cats (please neuter your cats everyone!) are a huge problem for tarsiers—as well as many other birds and small mammals around the world. Secondly, poachers hunt and capture tarsiers to keep them as pets or display them as tourist attractions. One of the biggest though is habitat destruction. Slash and burn forestry practices in the Philippines for farm plots have devastated their communities, as well as indiscriminate logging and urban sprawl.

What’s surprising is that they’ve lasted as long as they have. Apparently indigenous superstition—along with a relatively thick rainforest—has apparently preserved the species. Tribes leave the Philippine Tarsiers in the wild because they fear that the animals could bring bad luck. One belief passed down over the centuries is that tarsiers are pets belonging to spirits dwelling in giant fig trees, known as belete trees. If someone harms a tarsier they need to apologize to the spirits of the forest, or it’s thought they will encounter sickness or hardship in life. I guess sometimes superstition can be a positive thing.

Check out his fingertips and the little hooks at his feet

The sanctuary was an interesting place. We pulled up on our motorbike and found a mostly empty building where several domestic goats scrambled around the room and onto the one couch until the guide showed up and shooed them away. The guide hardly spoke at all, but led us to a large fenced off area, opened the gate and asked us to follow him inside. Another couple joined us, unfortunately, as I would have stayed and stared at the tarsier for hours. He led us through a brushy forest and pointed out our first tarsier. We followed him on a short walk through the preserve and saw several more.

I wanted to touch them, of course, they are—I hate to say it—totally adorable. But we weren’t allowed and I knew that wouldn’t be good. We took a bunch of photos of the first couple we saw. I couldn’t help feel like a complete tourist, but they were in their native habitat and the sanctuary attempts to raise money to preserve forest land for the tarsiers as well as simply raising awareness about the species.

A sense of his size

The tarsier shares a fate with many other sensitive native species around the world. It’s hard to feel like we can do anything about it, but one thing you can do is neuter your cats. Feral cats are a huge part of the problem, and it’s a small but responsible action that can really make the difference to other birds and mammals—even if they’re not as amazing looking as the crazy tarsier.

More about the tarsier check out this site: http://www.bohol.ph/article15.html