TARSIER HELPS RP ECOTOURISM BID
London, Nov. 30, 1997 - The world's tiniest monkey was the focus of the Philippine campaign to attract ecotourists at the recently-concluded World Travel Mart (WTM), held in London from Nov. 17-24. London is the permanent venue of the WTM, the largest annual international convention of tourism and travel trade practitioners.
The Department of Tourism chose the Tarsier because of its unique characteristics. It is a member of the prosimian sub-order along with the lemore, tree shrew and the loris. The tarsier is a 45-million-year-old species endemic to the Philippines. No more than several hundred survive in the wild.
Measuring just 3 to 5 inches in height and weighing n average of 75 grams, the tarsier is found only in Bohol, Samar, Leyte and a few parts of Mindanao.
To attract ecotourists, the DOT and the Philippine Tarsier Foundation are establishing a Tarsier Sanctuary and a Tarsier Trail which will give tourists a view of the rare animal in its natural habitat.
The DOT has assessed the country's environmental resources and established eco-villages, forest parks and wildlife zones purposely for nature-tripping tourists. Among these new attractions are a tribal village park in Northern Mindanao and several package tours for whale and dolphin watchers.
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