Loboc, Bohol – A Tarsier Staring Contest Gone Wrong

January 23, 2019July 25, 2021 Rex Lim Lim

Reading Time: 8 minutes

Loboc, Bohol is home to the famous Tarsier Conservation Area, one the province’s biggest tourist draw.

Needless to say, I lost into a staring contest in Bohol, well not with a human, but with the smallest primate in the world. But what haunts me even more is that, the poor Tarsier is the one who even got lost a million fold after being kept inside the “Conservation Area”.

I feel sorry for the poor creature and even feeling more ashamed of myself after that brief encounter. I regret being excited to see them in captivity.

What went good, what went wrong? let me recount what happened.

Conservation? Really??

Table of Contents

Bohol, when mentioned is synonymous to the Chocolate Hills and the Tarsier. Maybe that is why I ventured down into this Visayan Gem just to see them for myself.

After a rather quick photo session in the “Man-Made Forest” of Bilar, we rode for a few more kilometers before arriving into the Tarsier Conservation Area of Loboc. Along the Loay interior road, canopied by gargantuan trees in a cool forest setting, the road at the left side opened up into a large clearing, revealing a large hut filled again with tourists, souvenir shops, and stalls of all sorts.

Loboc, Bohol is home to the famous Tarsier Conservation Area — Googly eyes.

There’s this creepy looking mascot of what should seem to be a Tarsier, but it looks nothing more than what haunts you in your dreams when you were a kid. But truth be told, I am just afraid of dolls, clowns and stuffed toys.

Established in Upper Bonbon, Loboc in 2011, this new conservation area is a move to decongest the once 3-hectare facility into a larger one at 6 hectares, where the Tarsiers caught as pet and domesticated by private individuals in Bohol was transferred into a more “natural” habitat.

This move is initiated by the regional office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in high hopes to acquaint back more than a hundred of this petite primates to hunt and live on their own in a more controlled and safe forested sanctuary.

The area was quite rowdy, after paying 60php, no more briefing and whatsoever, I ambled towards a cemented pathway snaking into a Mahogany forested area with nets all around. Then a lady pointed me into a smaller tree branch, telling me that the small primate was there.

I was more than excited to see one and had my camera ready, she did not even asked me that flash is not allowed since I had a camera clutched in my hand. My initial reaction was come a little close and snap a photo, but the little cuddly creature that looks like Yoda from Star Wars was wide awake, looking at me warily as if I was a threat.

I stared at him in pure excitement, then he stared back, I stared back again and it went for quite some time, it was an on-point staring game, little Yoda was playing the game I started. But after a few moments it hit me, I squinted back in disgust with my self and wonder why the hell the nocturnal primate was wide awake in the middle of the day?

A few more strides as I walked away, another lady stationed not too far told me another one was clinging into a small branch, then deliberately pointed me into another branch where another smaller one was “stationed”. They were actually all over the place and I even noticed that all of their locations had a large dried leaf put over them as canopy.

The pathways are smaller, and they are really near us, at some point, one can actually even poke, rub, or even pet them because of their close distance from the pathway.

It is said that they are enforcing stricter implementations to make this a more suitable place for the Tarsiers to live in, but i didn’t felt that way.

It just hit me that the place is purposely placed to attract tourists, and everything about the conservation effort is wrong. Conservation? Really??

Let me tell you what Tarsiers are, and what went wrong with this brief encounter.

Dear Human, I Do Commit SUICIDE…

Philippine Tarsiers (Carlito Syrichta) usually called locally as Mamag, Mago, Magau, Maomag, Malmag and Magatilok-iok are classified by the IUCN Red List as ENDANGERED species that belongs to the family Tarsidae, they belong to a 45 million year old primate species.

They are slowly vanishing from the wild due to the deforestation, their habitats are dwindling due to irresponsible conversions of forests into planting areas. Their number also diminished due to the pet trade and hunters who consider them as game creatures and as source of income.

What makes them unique?

They are one of the smallest primates in the wild, usually they range from less than half of a ruler down to a quarter of it. Making them hard to spot in the wild.
They have fixed eyes that are larger than their brains that makes them able to turn their heads 180 degrees.
They have an unusually large eyes that makes them hunt their prey pretty good in the night. Their night vision capabilities are excellent
They are arboreal, carnivorous, and territorial. Usually a male Tarsier needs a territory of about six hectares of space and a female Tarsier needs at least two hectares, when one crosses paths, they fight to the death.
They are incredibly gifted with the sense of hearing. They can hear a frequency of up to 91 kHz (kilohertz) and send sounds of 70 kHz.
They could only give birth to one offspring per year.

So what went wrong from my Loboc Tarsier Conservation Area experience?

They are wide awake in the middle of the day
- - Tarsiers are nocturnal by nature, I also heard that since they are domesticated, they are purposely placed in their ‘stations’ everyday after each viewing day (this is really obvious, unless they built the stations themselves), they are put back in their cages, then this goes on and on, explaining why there are dried leaves on top of them. Staying up all day adds burden to them, and also their irresistible charm and being cuddly is another factor.
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A post shared by PhilippineTarsierFoundation (@philippinetarsierfoundation)
They are placed next to each other
- As I have said they are territorial and they fight to the death when they cross paths against each other. There is no ample space for their need to be distant from one another.
They are placed really close to the pathways
- To give tourists like me the opportunity to take a photo of them really closely, even pet them, or force feed them when the ladies stationed are not looking.
- Truth be told, Tarsiers are sensitive to light, noise and human interaction, when stressed out, they do commit suicide, by banging their heads against a hard surface.
Flash Photography is not strictly implemented
- There are no guide booklets/ flyers/ pamphlets given or a quick orientation was done about the dont’s when entering the area. Their big bulging eyes are sensitive to light, they lack a light reflecting layer in their retinas, that a quick flash will disorient them, stressing them out and eventually this may lead to suicide.
They are still held in captivity
- Tarsiers are known to have never formed successful breeding colonies in captivity

We should all remember that all of this conditions lead to higher stress rates for the little creatures which in turn translates to higher chances of them committing suicide. Needless to say, this is not a conservation area afterall.

I immediately went out from the souvenir store which also happens to be the exit of the “conservation area” and kept in mind the harrowing experience these Tarsiers are experiencing.

How Can We Help?

Many steps are taken by the government to protect one of our national pride, for being only endemic to the Philippines and in some parts of Southeast Asia. It is also noted that one conservation area in Mt. Matutum in South Cotabato, Mindanao is being set up as of this writing.

Also, if you are planning to see Tarsiers in the wild, and in a real conservation area, I suggest to head to the PTFI, or Philippine Tarsier Foundation, Incorporated in Corella, Bohol.

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A post shared by PhilippineTarsierFoundation (@philippinetarsierfoundation)

They are widely known to successfully breed Tarsiers in their center by making semi-wild enclosure known as the Tarsier Research and Development Center. This is by far a more sustainable way of exposing this creatures to the humans. One can see them in captivity in this center in a better way, or one can opt to take the hiking trails inside the protected area where you have to really work your way to see one or two dwelling in the wild the way they should be.

Transit Pinas suggests each and everyone planning to visit and see Tarsiers to:

No Flash Photography
Not make loud noises
By not petting them and/or force feed them
Not spending more than five minutes of interaction with one Tarsier
By not including the Loboc Tarsier Conservation Area in your country side tour, and instead, visit PTFI in Corella, Bohol
- The Tarsier Sanctuary in Corella, allows visitors to see them both in captivity and in hiking trails for 50php entrance fee, one can also volunteer to help the conservation efforts.

Coming Up, an encounter with the Giants of Bohol, my first time to see for myself, the Chocolate Hills! Link HERE.

How To Get There

- The Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary in Corella, Bohol is located 14 kms from Tagbilaran (provincial capital of Bohol) and 20 kms from Loboc.
- To get there, you can take a Ceres bus/ Van in Dao Bus Terminal (located just across Island City Mall) that goes to Sikatuna, Bohol. Tell the driver to take you to the Tarsier Sanctuary in Corella.

Bohol: Into the Tarsier Republic – Imagine Philippines, if not, all of its attractions all rolled into one ultimate destination, then Bohol is the place to be!

From the curious chocolate colored hills, waterfalls, diverse marine biodiversity, white beaches, pristine islands, clingy Tarsiers, and rice terraces, this province is definitely your one stop shop travel destination. Follow my adventure series into this Visayan Gem, as I land into my 58th province last November 24, 2018!