Funny Animals - The Tarsier
The Tarsier is a mammal that resides in the southeastern part of
Asia. It is an unusual animal that enjoys living in rain forests and
also bamboo forests.
This animal can be found in the countries of
Indonesia and Philippines. The Tarsier spends all of its life in trees.
The term for this is arboreal. It is interesting that the Tarsier even
gives birth and sleeps in trees. When this animal is on the ground, it
doesn't actually walk but it hops..
The Tarsier is related to monkeys,
apes, and lemurs quite closely.
The Tarsier has a long tail with large eyes. At the end of each toe
and finger are pads. This anatomy allows them to climb tress easily.
Because of the enormous size of their eyes, they can see quite well at
night but not well during the daytime.
This animal has a neck that is
very flexible. The Tarsier is usually between 3 - 6 inches in length. If
you include their tail, that adds an additional 5 - 11 inches in length.
This animal is approximately the size of a common squirrel. They are
territorial animals and will mark their area with urine.
The Tarsier is
a carnivore. Primarily they eat worms, insects, and other small animals.
The Tarsier was once more prosperous than it is now. It was more wide
spread in times past but now it is found only in Southeast Asia.
This
animal is primarily insectivorous. They have a unique way of catching
insects by jumping and catching them. They will also feed on other
animals like snakes, bats, birds, and snakes. As the Tarsier jumps from
the trees, they even have the amazing capability to catch birds in mid
jump!
The gestation takes around 6 months. The baby Tarsier is able to
climb within one day after birth. It takes them one year to reach sexual
maturity. The adult Tarsier live in pairs as adults.
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