These wide eyed furballs were actually thought to be extinct since the 1920s! Were it not for the accidental killing of one while scientists were trapping rats in 2000, their existence would not have been known. In 2008, three more pygmy tarsiers were found and have been collared so more research may be done on them. There are still too few creatures for the IUCN to even make a determination as to their current endangered status.
The larger group of tarsiers as a whole are the only primates who are exclusively carnivorous, eating mostly insects and some small birds and lizards. They are dispersed among the islands of Southeast Asia, and pygmy tarsiers are found only in Indonesia. Tarsier conservation is particularly difficult because of their inability to cope with life in captivity. They have never successfully bred in an enclosure, and tarsiers have been known to injure or kill themselves because of the stress of being caged. Since 2008, numerous expeditions to find more pygmy tarsiers have all proved unsuccessful.
"wide eyed furball" is incredibly apt !!!
ReplyDeletei bet he would like a banana
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