Stop, Open Your Eyes and See the Tarsier

This is one of the famous must see in Bohol and who wouldn’t want to pass up on the opportunity to stare eye to eye with these cute little furry creatures.

Tarsier with a contemptous smile

Happy Wide Eyed Tarsier. This one seems to be happy having his picture taken

The first time I was at Bohol, it was only at Loboc Poblacion, at the river cruise terminal, where you can see and touch the tarsier. They were the only entity then that was granted permission by the DENR to care for Tarsiers in captivity. But now, along the road going to Carmen, you would surely pass by around 3 signs that says ‘Stop, See a Tarsier’. So I guess Tarsier care giving business have boomed in the area.

Previously, the tarsier caretakers at Loboc Poblacion allows you to touch the tarsiers, even having a picture with one on top of your head was allowed then. But now, there is a standing NO TOUCH rule for the tarsiers, just look, admire, but do not touch. This is probably to prevent mishandling and also to prevent domesticating the cute thing. There is also a NO FLASH photograhy rule, this one is understandable, with the tarsier’s eyes so big, a flash would definitely blind the poor animal for quite a while.

Tarsier: Cutey on the outside and probably chewy on the inside

Aside from Tarsiers, the place where we stopped at also had 2 flying lemurs and a small monkey on the side show.  

Flying Lemurs, seems like a good idea for a backpack

Sideshow monkey: This monkey seems to be jealous at all the attention that the tarsier is having, so he made his own scene

Trivia: Tarsiers are said to be very emotional creature and are observed to have suicidal tendencies. When they are caged, when they are alone or sometime for some unknown reasons, they just hate their cute furry little tush that they bash their heads to death. Probably some tarsiers just couldn’t cope up with the popularity and attention they get :p

As with any other tourist spots, you have souvenirs being sold in the area.   There is no entrance fee for viewing the  tarsiers, so Iguess these souvenir shops provide a living for both the tarsiers and their caretaker.

Souvenir shop inside the tarsier stop

Based only on comparison with the price at the Chocolate Hills, the price of the souvenir tarsier stuffed items are cheaper at these sites.   I’m not sure whether there are other sites where the tarsier souvenirs are sold at an even cheaper price.

Trivia: Tarsiers are not indigenous to Bohol. They are also found in Leyte, Mindanao, Indonesia and Malaysia.

• Bohol Island Basics
• Chocolate Hills:Bohol’s Signature Must See
• Sandugo Shrine:Something to Skip or Stop to Appreciate More
• Loboc River Cruise: The Place Where You’d Like to Sleep After a Heavy Lunch
• Stop, Open Your Eyes and See the Tarsier
• Baclayon Church: A Long Walk Away
• The Hanging Bridge, Simple Yet Fun
• Alona Beach, Panglao Island: Teeming with Marine Life
  • The Beach Area and Marine Life
  • The Resorts
  • Bohol Diver’s Club
  • Dining at Alona Beach
  • Going Around Panglao from Alona
• Reliving Francisco Dagohoy’s Legend at EAT Danao
  • Extreme Road Trip to Extreme Activities
  • Take The Danao Plunge
  • SuiSlide, More of a SereneSlide
  • The Most Important Adventure: Eating at EAT Danao
  • Not Much Time? Stay at the Park!

Related Posts

1. Sandugo Shrine:Something to Skip or Stop to Appreciate More
2. The Hanging Bridge, Simple Yet Fun
3. Ba-lik sa Bohol, Ba-lik! (Ba-lik! Ba-lik!)
4. Chocolate Hills:Bohol’s Signature Must See
5. Loboc River Cruise: The Place Where You’d Like to Sleep After a Heavy Lunch

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