TARSIER TRAIL BOOST ECO-TOURISM
Bohol Island, Jan. 24, 1998 - Philippine ecotourism received another big boost last week with the ground breaking for a visitor complex that is a key component of the Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary in Corella, Bohol. The sanctuary is a 134-hectare protected rainforest.
The Philippine Tarsier Foundation, headed by Tourism Secretary Mina Gabor, is a non- governmental organization specifically set up for the protection and conservation of the Philippine tarsier (Tarsius syrichta), a 45-million-year-old faunal species endemic to the Philippines.
The preservation of the tarsier was mandated last year by President Ramos through Proclamation 1030 declaring it an especially protected species.
The tarsier is so thin and can fit snugly into the human palm, but has eyes that are one and a half times larger than a man's. While not yet threatened with extinction, the Philippine tarsier is an extremely shy, nocturnal animal and a slow breeder whose natural forested habitat have all but completely disappeared due to indiscriminate logging and rapid human population growth.
Although tarsiers can also be found in three or four other Visayan provinces, the species has been identified with Bohol, where several hundred specimens have been monitored.
The Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary features a netted enclosure where visitors can be oriented to the world of the tarsier and observe it at close range. From the enclosure, trails and pathways radiate to other parts of the forest where colonies of the tarsier live in the wild. The paths and trails are also where one can sight other rare fauna and flora.
Additional information on the Philippine tarsier and on efforts to protect it may be obtained by email from <tarsier@mozcom.com>
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