Have You Ever Seen A Tarsier?

Such dainty feeding habits, too - and such lovely little hands. They're adorable, but the eyes must be for good night vision, surely? Are they (without me Googling) the same as 'bush babies'? I know they're not ei-eis, because they have a really spooky long index finger for nicking grubs out of tree bark. Wouldn't mind a piccie of an ei-ei, if you can find one, Googlemeister! :D
 
For those with sky/cable there is a programme on Monday at 9pm Animal planet Nick Bakers weird creature's, I've seen clips of it this week & looks like its worth a watch!
 
Originally posted by krizon@Mar 2 2007, 04:54 PM
Are they the same as 'bush babies'?
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No - and I've seen bush babies. Bush babies are correctly called galagos. Galagos, along with lorises and pottos, are generally referred to "prosimians", as are lemurs. They are all primates, but are only very distantly related to monkeys and apes.

They are tiny to small animals only reaching a weight in the largest species of about 1.2 kg (2.6 lbs). All are entirely arboreal and nocturnal. Lemurs live in Madagascar (where I have seen them all over the island) but none of the others do. Lorises live in India and Southeast Asia; pottos and galagos live only in Africa; tarsiers are found only on certain islands in Malaysia.

Lorises, pottos, and galagos are closely related to lemurs; tarsiers are only distantly related. Lorises, pottos and galagos all belong to the family Lorisidae. Tarsiers belong to the family Tarsiidae and an entirely different superfamily, the Tarsiodea.
 
:dork: Sheeyit! You dang good on dat Google, mistuh! Well, we always called bush babies 'bush babies' in Africa, not pottos or anything else. They made and probably still make very popular pets, although some Africans were a bit wary of them as they thought they were spirits in animal form. Along with chameleons and a load of other charming creatures. I believe the Madagascans also fear the ei-ei as an evil spirit, which is pretty sad, given how delightful its expression is and how harmless its lifestyle.
 
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