Sunday August 9, 2009
First tarsier study begins
By MUGUNTAN VANAR
KOTA KINABALU: A young male tarsier named Jamil perched on a sapling at the Danau Girang Field Centre at the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, not knowing it was becoming part of conservation history.
The tarsier, a primate species, became the first of its kind to be radio collared in efforts by scientist to carry out a detailed study of the nocturnal activities of the animal.
Tarsiers are characterised by eyes larger than their brain, teeth so sharp that they can pierce the bones of a frog or snake, and long legs like rubber bands allowing for spectacular three-metre leaps.
Conservation efforts: (Left) A tarsier released in the forest at the Danau Girang Field Centre in lower Kinabatangan. Unlike macaques and orang utans, however, no systematic study of these charismatic nocturnal creature has been undertaken in Malaysia for more than 20 years.
The project is aided by participants in an Oxford Brookes University field course in Primate Conservation and Ecology.
The small collar, weighing less than 3% of the tarsier’s body weight, will not hinder the animal as it goes about its rapid nocturnal forays searching for insects, lizards and other prey.
It will allow field assistant and student Ridzwan Ali and his team to track it throughout the night. Being a wholly nocturnal animal, it is almost impossible to keep track of its movement.
The centre’s director, Dr Benoit Goossens, said there was a need for better understanding of habitat needs, diet and social organisation of tarsiers that would be key to conservation policies for these unique little creatures.
Sabah Wildlife Department director Laurentius Ambu said the study on tarsiers was part of a bio-diversity assessment and monitoring in ongoing efforts to develop an adaptive management strategy for the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife San-ctuary.
Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation and Primate Action Fund of Conservation International, Pri-mate Conservation Inc, and Primate Society of Great Britain are supporting the research project.
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