Tarsiers! And an Alien possesion? Pictures!

[Diver Dennis]

My topside photography skills are not the best and I shoot automatic...:shakehead but after diving on Cabilao here in the Philippines last week, we took a day tour of Bohol through the Chocolate Hills and along the Loboc River. We stopped at the Tarsier Santuary to take a look. Tarsiers are primates about the size of a baseball or sometimes a softball and found in Southeast Asia. You are not allowed to use flash photography so I got a few blurred shots but they looked so cute.

 

[Diver Dennis]

Then I ran into one with this evil Alien look...:11:

 

[do it easy]

Wow, I wouldn't trust them farther than I could throw them Nice photos!

Did you find out how they fit in the local ecosystem and why they have such big eyes?

I think that last one needs a tin foil hat

 

[Diver Dennis]

Thanks Tony. They live in the local jungles and are nocturnal, hence the big eyes. They are endangered but they have a successful breeding program where these were taken. They feed on insects mostly.

I thought the last guy looked like something from a movie where they get one of the creatures wet and a bunch of them start to cause havoc?

 

[do it easy]

ahh Gremlins! Don't get 'em wet and don't feed 'em after midnight!

 

[Diver Dennis]

Yeah, that's it! Thanks Tony. I wonder if they used this guy as a model for the evil ones?

 

[TSandM]

Oh, Dennis, those are PRECIOUS!

We really enjoyed our hike up to see the tarsiers, and Peter got some nice pictures, but not so close -- Did your guys come down close to you, or did you have a telephoto to get those shots?

The one with the evil look is so priceless that, if I were not forever committed to the Borg Queen, he'd be my new avatar.

 

[Mike Veitch]

heheheh

i want to photograph Tarsiers..

Dennis: next time, up the fstop using aperture priority to about f16, you might need to bump up the ISO as well, that way you will get the nose in focus as well as the eyes

 

[Diver Dennis]

Lynne, they were right in front of me. About 6". Even though it is a sanctuary, you can get really close as long as you don't blind them with a flash or touch them. Evidently, the top of their head is very soft, according to a Ranger there. I think the Borg queen is cute!

Thanks Mike. I need topside lessons too... I gotta stop using auto.

 

[DavidPT40]

Tarsiers fill find a hollow piece of wood by tapping on it until the sound matches up. Then they will chew a tiny little hole in the wood, and stick one of their very long fingers in it to extract any insects inside.