TACLOBAN CITY – The local government unit of Tunga, Leyte, has confirmed sightings of the endangered Philippine tarsier in one of its villages.
In a social media post on Thursday (25 April 2024), the local tourism office stated that the tarsier was recently spotted in Astorga village by Julios Aglosulos, who uploaded photos online.
A November 2023 photo of the primate spotted in Tunga town has been circulating online. The primate was seen clinging to a young leaf of a coconut tree.
“As their giant eyes might suggest, Philippine tarsiers are nocturnal and well-adapted to their dark environment. Currently, the tarsier is back in its natural habitat,” the tourism office said.
Locally called “mago,” the tarsier is a primate endemic to the Philippines and commonly found in the islands of Bohol, Samar, and Leyte, including Biliran and Maripipi islands.
This is the second recent sighting of a Philippine tarsier in Leyte Island.
In 2022, a sighting of a tarsier was documented in Tacloban during the night survey by the University of the Philippines Tacloban in Sta. Elena village.
As a nocturnal creature, its main diet consists of insects like grasshoppers, crickets, spiders, and small vertebrates such as small lizards and birds.
(el Amigo/MNM)