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Little Primate Is a Big Deal
You know a little monkey – not much bigger than 100 millimetres in height – is a pretty big deal when the President of the Republic of the Philippines, Fidel V. Ramos, mentioned the endangered Filipino Tarsier in his 1997 State of the Union Address. That same year he signed “Proclamation No. 1030, Declaring the Philippine Tarsier (Tarsius Syrichta) as a Specially Protected Faunal Species of the Philippines.”
Is the Philippine Tarsier Really the Tiniest Monkey?
Natively known as mamag, mago, and even magatilok-iok, the Filipino Tarsier isn’t really a monkey and it’s not the worlds smallest tarsier, that distinction goes to a species of Indonesian tarsier. These creatures share the family made up of lesser primate animals such as the lemur, the tree shrew, and the loris. But, like monkeys, the tarsier has a flattened face, round skull, erect posture, and a very long tail – longer than its body – that functions as a kind of fifth limb. Their eyes are so disarming; they are larger than human eyes even though the animal can easily fit in a human hand. They have very charming little hands and feet. That’s their problem – they’re just too cute.
Imperilled Primate
As the last century started to wind down, so too did the population of the Philippine Tarsier. The reasons for its rapid decline included:
- Human Encroachment
- Slash and Burn Farming
- Smuggling for the Pet Market
- Killings by Farmers Fearful for Crops
- Capture and Killing by Taxidermists for Souvenirs
That’s why the aforementioned proclamation prohibits the hunting, killing, wounding, taking away, or possession of the Philippine Tarsier and the conduct of activities destructive of its habitat.
Ridiculous Reasons for Ruin
Slash and burn farming is prohibited in protected areas. Farmers still have to be educated that tarsiers are harmless to crops. In fact, they protect the crops because their diet is almost exclusively insects. The pet market is plain silly since most tarsiers cannot abide the noise and trauma of human company and often commit suicide. If they don’t, they rarely live beyond two years. In the wild they can last up to 20 years. The role of the taxidermists serving the tourist souvenir trade has been brought to a halt – mostly.
A Few More Facts About the Little Critters
Here are few more interesting facts to round out your perception of these distinctive animals:
- Ancient, date back 45 million years, oldest terrestrial species in the Philippines.
- Solitary and territorial.
- Able to turn the head 180 degrees.
- Can make leaps many times its body length.
- Pregnancy lasts six months for a baby of only 25 grams when born.
- Sometimes act as surrogate mothers to foster offspring.
- Cuddly-looking creature with soft, grayish-fur.
Now that you know so much about these wonderfully mysterious little critters, maybe you’d like to make a date to meet a few. Well, you need to head to The Tarsier Sanctuary deep in the secondary-growth forest of the foothills of Corella City, in the interior part of the Philippine island of Bohol.
The Philippine Tarsier and Wildlife Sanctuary
The Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary is less than a half-hour drive from Tagbilaran City, and can be reached by either private or public transport. Guests may tour the tarsier enclosure for a minimal fee. Other activities are permitted inside the sanctuary, such as camping, picnicking, bird watching, or taking an additional ecological tour throughout the 167 hectares of reserved land.
Home of the Tarsier Foundation
The Philippine Tarsier Foundation, Inc. has constructed a visitor complex. Aimed at introducing guests to the Philippine Tarsier, the building contains a reception and souvenir counter, an exhibition area, an audio-visual room, a small cafeteria, and administration offices. From the visitor complex, trails and pathways spread out to various parts of the Sanctuary where the tarsier can be observed in its natural habitat by the naked eye or with binoculars. To facilitate this – and a real treat – multiple viewing decks have been erected atop elevated platforms.
A Philippine National Symbol
Just about any Philippine tourist brochure you pick will have a picture of a tarsier. Bohol is one of the best places to see the little tarsier, but many other attractions abound. In fact, Bohol is one of the major attractions for visitors to the Philippines. As such it has plenty of fine accommodations for the traveler. No matter where you go, don’t patronise any outlets or attractions displaying illegally-acquired tarsiers. Though Filipinos themselves are becoming more aware of the importance of the animals, they need the help of people all over the globe to ensure that the little creatures have a safe home in the Philippines.
About the author: Tess Pajaron is part of the team behind Open Colleges, Australia’s provider of travel agent courses and hospitality training courses. She travels frequently to different countries and loves to explore various cultures and histories.
Philippine Tarsier photo by Kudomomo on Flickr
