Philippine+Tarsier


 * __What is it? __**


 * // Tarsius syrichta //**

//* Descriptions: //


 * About 2.8 to 5.6 oz in **weight ** and about 3.35 to 6.30 in **height **
 * One of the **smallest** primates
 * ** Average adult size is about a human fist **
 * ** Average adult size is about a human fist **


 * Their **eyes** are fixed in its skull and cannot turn in their sockets
 * o A special adaptation in the **neck** allows its **head** to **rotate 180 degrees**
 * Has the **//largest //** **eye-to-body size ratio** of all mammals
 * o This provides the **nocturnal** animal with excellent **night vision**


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Their large and mobile membranous **ears** allow them to **hear any movement**


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Has thin, rough **fur** which is colored **gray** to **dark brown**


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Its **tail**, which is **twice** the **body length**, is used for **balance**


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Its elongated “**tarsus**,” or ankle bone (which gives the tarsier its name), allows it to **jump at least 3 meters** from tree to tree without having to touch the ground


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Its long **digits** are tipped with rounded pads that allow it to cling to trees and **grip almost any surface**


 * __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Conservation Status: __**

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Near Threatened




 * __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Where is it found? __**


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Southeastern part of the Philippines


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Established populations are present primarily on the islands of Bohol, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao, and on isolated islands such as Maripipi Island, Siargao Island, Basilan, and Dinagat Island.


 * __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Lifestyle __**
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Habitat**: Primary and secondary **tropical** **rainforests** with dense vegetation and trees that offer protection sich as tall grasses, bushes, and bamboo shoots.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Density**: 16 male and 41 female tarsiers per 100 ha.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Food**: live insects, crickets, grasshoppers, spiders, small crustaceans, and small vertebrates such as small lizards and birds. **The Philippine Tarsier may help structure insect communities and may impact predator populations.**


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Ecosystem roles**: feral cats, small carnivores, and large birds, such as owls, prey on them


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Behavior**: a **shy** **nocturnal** animal that leads a hidden life; **asleep** during the **day** and only **active** to look for food during the **night**, when they can **avoid** **humans**.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Communication**: “**loud** **calls**” (a piercing single note) for territorial maintenance, and **soft** **twills** when content; together they have a **chirping** **sound**.


 * __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Issues and Threats to Species __**


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">For the past 45 million years, tarsiers have inhabited rainforests around the world, but now they only exist on a few islands in the **Philippines**, **Borneo** and **Indonesia**.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">In **Bohol**, the Philippine Tarsier was a **common** **sight** in the southern part of the island **until** **the** **1960s**.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Since then, the **number** **has dwindled** to as few as an estimated **1000** **still left** **in** **the wild**.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Once protected by the humid rainforests and mist-shrouded hills, these mysterious primates **struggle** **to** **survive as their home is cleared for crop growing.**


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Due to the quickly growing human population, which causes more and more forests to be converted to farmland, housing areas and roads, **the** **place** **where the Philippine Tarsier can live its secluded life is disappearing.**


 * __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Conservation Efforts and Initiatives __**


 * **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Importance to Humans **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">There is **no known negative impact of the Philippine Tarsier on humans**, just as long as it is in its native environment.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">When kept as pets, there is a possibility that the species **may spread worms and other parasites to their human owners.**
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tarsiers used to be kept as pets or sold for trade, although their **survival in captivity is erratic** due to their need for live insects upon which to feed.


 * **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Initiatives **
 * **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sale and trade of the species is prohibited **
 * **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Philippine debt-for-nature swap program **
 * **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Philippine Tarsier Foundation Incorporated **
 * **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tarsier Sanctuary captive display **
 * **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Possession and display of tarsiers banned in Loboc **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">
 * __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">HUMAN EFFECTS __**

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">How has the Philippine Tarsier been directly affected by humans/human activity? **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Because of its adorable and benign appearance, many have been lured to keep the Philippine Tarsier as pets. The unabated hunting of the species by humans for house pets or for trade has forced its number to decline.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Illegal trade of the animal further diminishes its remaining number since its life span is 24 years, but 12 years in captivity (half).

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">How has the Philippine Tarsier been indirectly affected by humans/human activity? **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Illegal logging, cutting of trees for firewood, and the slash and burn method of agriculture have encroached on the habitats of the tarsier, causing the tarsier to be threatened or endangered.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Due to the quickly growing human population, which causes more and more forests to be converted to farmland, housing areas and roads, the place where the Philippine Tarsier can live its secluded life is disappearing.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Why is it important that the Philippine Tarsier is protected and conservation efforts persist? **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Philippine Tarsier may help structure insect communities and may impact predator populations.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**__Sources:__**
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Scientists are interested in these animals because of their unique taxonomic position in the order Primates.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> http://animalphotos.info/a/2008/04/03/cute-mouse-like-and-soft-tarsier-hugs-mossy-branch/ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://www.tarsiusproject.org/ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/tarsier <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://www.philippines-travel-guide.com/philippine-tarsier.html <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://members.tripod.com/uakari/tarsius_syrichta.html <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://www.brainmuseum.org/Specimens/primates/tarsier/index.html <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://www.tarsiusproject.org/philippine-tarsiers/ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://www.fieldmuseum.org/Philippine_Mammals/Tarsius_syrichta.htm <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Tarsius_syrichta.html <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://web.archive.org/web/20061008202739/ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://www.inq7.net/globalnation/sec_phe/2005/jan/19-01.htm <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://www.bohol.ph/article44.html <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://www.inq7.net/junior/oct99wk3/jun_main.htm <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://sarangani.freewebspace.com/news/tarsier/m06tarsier.html