Many rare animals have been discovered living in the haven of the Philippine forests. One of them is the tarsier or Tarsius Syrichta, its scientific name, which is found in Bohol, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao. This creature is no larger than an adult man’s hand thus it is considered as one of the minutest primates in the globe. Most of the people also regard tarsier as the “smallest monkey” due to some of its physical features, internal structures and habits that are alike to monkeys. However, many scientific studies proved that it is not under the Suborder Anthropoid of apes and monkeys. It has been found to belong to the Suborder Prosimian where lemurs and bushbabies belong. Few of the evidences were Tarsier is a nocturnal animal, possesses claws and bicornuate uterus or two uterus shaped like horn – very the same with the Prosimians. Here is the taxonomic classification of the Tarsier: Class Mammalia, Order Primates, Suborder Prosimii/Haplorrhini, Infraorder Tarsiiformes, Superfamily Tarsioidea.

The big, round and disproportioned eyes to its body have also been one of the tarsier’s most dominant features. The eye sockets are known to be larger than its skull and even the stomach. Another interesting characteristic of a tarsier is the ability to rotate its head 180 degrees same as the owl’s. Its tail is also comparatively long for balancing purpose. The teeth used for capturing insects such as cockroaches are sharp though sometimes fish, birds, reptiles and bats are eaten by some. The tarsier thrives at night while stay isolated in its hollow near the ground. Male tarsier is larger than the female but the latter takes in charge of taking care of their Youngs. Anyway, where does the name tarsier derived from? It is derived from its very long ankle bones which makes it capable to leap like a frog within three meters.

Currently many issues have been confronting the species of Tarsier. Environmental problems such as deforestation due to illegal logging and “kaingin” or the burning of trees and plants in the forest cause the slow diminution of this creature. If its habitat is destroyed the cradle and source of food of the tarsier will also perish. In addition to the first issue is the commercialization of the tarsiers in the form of catching them and selling them to foreigners. Many rare animals just like the tarsier have been discovered in the Philippines and within the neighboring countries but it is only up to the people if they want to nurture them more and make them flourish.