I’ve known about tarsiers probably since I was in secondary school and that’s quite a long time ago (Oh no! Did I just reveal my age?).
I also know a lot about tarsiers from books and magazines that I’ve read and from TV documentaries and tourism shows that I’ve watched.
But nothing prepared me for the real face-to-face encounter with the lovely, tiny, and very delicate tarsiers.
They are so cute and cuddly, except that you are not allowed to cuddle them because they are very sensitive creatures. We were told that if handled the wrong way they would suffer so much pain that they are known to commit suicide to stop their suffering.
Marielle and Johan were each begging us to bring home a tarsier for herself/himself but of course that is out of the question.
It is amazing how the tarsiers seem to thrive in the island of Bohol but not anywhere else. They are endemic to Bohol. There must be something special – perhaps a combination of ideal habitation, food sources, and climate that makes Bohol just the right place for these very sensitive creatures to thrive in. Perhaps it is the same freak of nature that gifted Bohol with the famous Chocolate Hills that brought Tarsier to the island.
