Of course tarsiers in Mt. Matutum Protected Landscape did not started there (outside of bohol) two days ago, as what this inquirer news is implying.
Linan Tarsier in temporary captivity. Note that these animals are very much aloof and is nocturnal by nature.
These tarsiers has been in Mt. Matutum’s Protected Landscape (MMPL) for years already. Some natives of Sitio Bagong Silang in Linan, Tupi South Cotabato I talked to back in 2010 (where I saw tarsiers in temporary captivity) approximated that these tarsiers might have been living in Mt. Matutum for more than ten years already, relating actual sightings and encounters of these nocturnal creatures by the natives years before they caught one in just at the foot of Mt. Matutum. Tarsiers are known to be aloof and nocturnal animals and sightings in the wild is even rare. No one has properly documented these tarsiers’ presence until recently, when the municipality of Tupi and province of South Cotabato has been aggressively pushing for ecotourism (like this one I went to back in 2010) in this part of the protected landscape.
One private non profit group Endangered Species International (ESI) took notice and obtained permit to scientifically collect and study the tarsiers in the area of Mt. Matutum Protected Landscape (MMPL). ESI plans to “create a core conservation center at Sitio Bagong Silang in Linan, Tupi, South Cotabato to better protect their habitat and to prevent the tarsiers from total extinction” according to Dr. Pierre Fidenci, a biologist and ESI President.
You can see more photos of this Mt. Matutum/Linan Tarsiers in Allan Barredo’s blog, Lantaw, here and his flickr photos here.
