Most of us have never heard of a Pygmy Tarsier. For one, they’re little – only about 4 inches in size and weigh in at only 2 ounces. For two, no one has seen one alive since 1921 – that is, until now.
<img src=“http://www.sciam.com/media/externalnews/2008-11-18T233200Z_01_BTRE4AH1TD500_RTROPTP_2_SCIENCE-US-PRIMATE-INDONESIA.JPG” style=“float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px” width=200 alt=“Pygmy Tarsier”/>The minute mammals were found on a cold, foggy mountain on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. It took two months to trap three of the fluffy mouse-sized primates so they could be given radio collars. The goal is to track their moments and learn more about these rare relatives of ours that look remarkably like Gremlins.
While primatologists are thrilled at the discovery, the tarsiers, which some scientists had believed were extinct, weren’t exactly excited to be found. One of them took a good bite out of Texas A&M University professor of anthropology Sharon Gursky-Doyen.
“I’m the only person in the world to ever be bitten by a pygmy tarsier,” Gursky-Doyen said. “My assistant was trying to hold him still while I was attaching a radio collar around its neck. It’s very hard to hold them because they can turn their heads around 180 degrees. As I’m trying to close the radio collar, he turned his head and nipped my finger. And I yanked it and I was bleeding.”
Somehow, I think that’s just hilarious.
Here’s a tarsier info sheet, c/o Zooollogix:
I hope no-one feeds it after midnight…
am sorry to dissapoint Mr.Gurskey, but this pygmy tarsier are so much seen in Bohol. Philippines southern province..its one of the province tourist attraction where you can took picture, and even feed the animal…it was there for a very a long time and you don’t have to go to the jungle of indonesia to see one…..
here are the links if yoiu want to see tarsier in Bohol
http://www.traveljournals.net/stories/1004.html