Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary

The Philippine tarsier — one of the world's smallest primates — in its natural habitat

The Philippine Tarsier and Wildlife Sanctuary near Corella is one of the better places in Southeast Asia to see the extraordinary Philippine tarsier in semi-wild conditions. The sanctuary protects a patch of secondary forest where tarsiers live free-ranging, with guides who know where individual animals are resting during the day.

Tarsiers are nocturnal and spend the day sleeping in low branches, which makes them easy to observe without disturbing them — you stand quietly and look at an animal the size of your fist clinging to a branch a metre away, its enormous saucer eyes closed. The sanctuary is strict about flash photography and noise, which is the right approach; tarsiers under stress die easily. A short but worthwhile stop on the Chocolate Hills circuit, about 45 minutes from Tagbilaran.

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A story
The Philippine tarsier is one of the world's smallest primates and has some of the most remarkable adaptations of any mammal. Each of its eyes is as large as its brain — they cannot move in their sockets at all, so the tarsier rotates its head nearly 180 degrees to look around. It can also hear ultrasound frequencies far beyond human hearing, which it uses to hunt insects in complete darkness. The name comes from the unusually elongated tarsus bones in its hind legs, which allow it to leap distances many times its body length.