TARSIER in the Philippines

The Tarsier in the Philippines is a small creature which is one of the smallest primates in the world. However, it was liatws to The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates due to its vulnerability and the absence of law protecting it from illegal hunters in the until now.

The province of Bohol is one of the home of these tiny creatures. The island has many tarsier sanctuaries which help them to protect their populatiom. One of the sanctuaries we visited sanctuaries which is the Tarsier Conservation Area in Loboc.

Once you entered the sanctuary , you will be directed to the briefing area to know their local rules and to know how to properly deal with the tarsiers.

They were a nocturnal type of creature which feeds on insects, small birds and lizard. In order to avoid interrupting their deep sleep, the use of camera flash should be avoided

These creatures are so sensitive to the point that it will choose to commit suicide when they feel too much stress. When you barred them in a cage, it continuously hit its head to the metal bars until it dies. These tiny critters may look sluggish and weak during the day but they are like Master Yoda at night. They can do very large hops (40 times their size) just to catch insects and are very swift to evade predators.

Anyway, there is a Proclamation 1030 in June 23, 1997 states that “the possession of the Philippine tarsier is only allowed for educational, scientific, conservation-centered research purposes upon certification of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary.”