Pygmy Tarsier Rediscovered in Indonesia

By encino - Posted on 14 February 2009

The Pygmy Tarsier which was once thought to be extinct, and not seen since the 1920s, has been rediscovered on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi by a group of scientists from Texas. Only last year on the same island, a different species of tarsier was identified (Tarsius sangirensis) by a group of international scientists. Logging and other threats to the habitat of the tarsiers threaten its existence. The inhabitants of the volcanic island are also a threat to the tarsier as they hunt and eat them. Pictures below.

More about Tarsiers

More details about the pygmy tasier find from National Geographic:

The 2-ounce (57-gram) carnivorous primate had not been seen alive since the 1920s.

That was until researchers on a summer expedition captured, tagged, and released three members of the species (including this individual, above).

"Everyone's always talking about pygmy tarsiers," said lead researcher Sharon Gursky-Doyen, a professor at Texas A&M University.

"There have been dozens of expeditions looking for them—all unsuccessful. I needed to go and try to see for myself if they were really there or if they were really extinct," added Gursky-Doyen, whose research was funded in part by the National Geographic Society's Conservation Trust.

Once relatively abundant among the mossy, forested mountain slopes of Lore Lindu National Park in central Sulawesi, the pygmy tarsier population may have shrunk when logging in the 1970s destroyed its habitat, Gursky-Doyen said.

The nocturnal creatures rely on darkness to avoid predation. However in fragmented forests, the canopy lets in more moonlight, exposing the small animal to birds and other predators as it leaps from tree to tree.

Gursky-Doyen said she hopes the find will inspire the Indonesian government to protect the species and its habitat.

"[The] government needs to figure out a compromise between people and animals living in Lore Lindu."