Amazing Facts

What has the biggest eyes of any land mammal, relative to its body size?

Imagine if you had eyes as big as grapefruits. Tarsier “eyes are so large that they would be equivalent to grapefruit-sized eyes in a human being.”

A tarsier eye can be as large as its entire brain, and sometimes larger.

Their fur is soft and velvety. Their bodies and long toes are designed for leaping and clinging to vertical tree branches and vines. They also have the ability to see 360 degress around them, because their heads can move 180 degrees in either direction.

Tarsiers are very shy and prefer to move around only at night. They snack on insects.

They have to watch out for predators—lizards, snakes, cats, hawks and owls. When harassed by one of them, tarsiers call out to other tarsiers for help, and soon they (usually the males) will gather together to scare away the threat. Their calls are squeaky and high-pitched—sometimes too high for human ears to hear.

In ancient times, they lived in many parts of the world, including Europe and even North America. But in the wild today they are mainly limited to the island rainforests of Borneo, Malaysia, Sumatra and the Philippines. They seem to prefer forests with long woody vines.

“Tarsiers have a maximum body length of 6⅓ inches and a 10½ inch tail.” —The Guinness 1999 Book of Records

Enjoy our tarsier COLORING PAGE

HOME