Philippine Tarsier in a ray of light

Tarsier in a Ray of Light - The Philippines
Philippine Tarsier in a ray of light
Philippine Tarsier in a ray of light

Endangered Tarsiers in the Philippines saved?

When I originally wrote about the plight of the Tarsier in the Philippines I did not expect it to rollercoster into an environmental issue. But it did. With the help of readers here attention was brought to this tiny primates barbarous treatment in the Philippines.

The story behind this photograph

On the island of Bohol in The Philippines I visited a sanctuary set up to help these tiny nocturnal primate / marsupials. It was during morning and yes a few of the tarsiers were still active. I then found out how endangered the little creatures are.

Considering The Philippines extreme lack of wildlife I was very surprised to learn that these little creatures were being openly sold and caged in local stores.

Much like a lot of things in The Philippine the National Government ordered their protection but this means nothing in The Philippines if the local government doesn’t do the same. It’s political mess in the country and in this case the Tarsier was the victim.

I contacted the WWF in The Philippine who said there was no funding. Likewise readers here, Ivy in particular, contacted local WWF offices. While the funding did not change awareness did.

Philippine culture when it comes to animal care or protection is basically terrible. People bought Tarsiers and took them as pets. Tarsiers do not react well to being handle and die quickly in captivity.

After the coverage here more people became aware of this. A rather devious tactic be some was to make it known people can catch “worms” from Tarsiers. The trade slowed drastically.

The Filipino government both nationally and locally failed the tarsier and continues to do so. However awareness prevailed and has prevented the extinction of this little creature that bit longer.

At the end of the day the only thing that will truly save this little creature will be a big private investment. One that could go horribly wrong. A very sad fact when all it would take is one president to tell the local government to protect the tarsier.


Discover more great travel photographs

Philippine Tarsier in a ray of light

This is an additional photograph feature from my world travel photography gallery, documenting the story behind the picture 


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