Matilda Kosica, age 14, of Youngstown, Ohio, for her question:
WHAT SORT OF ANIMAL IS THE TARSIER?
He looks for all the world like a happy little elf, just about big enough to hold in your hand. His fingers and toes are long and skinny; his ears are wide and round, and he seems to be wearing goggles. However, the tarsier is a real live animal and, of all things, scientists tell us that he is related to the sophisticated monkey clan.
Our fields and meadows are populated with a variety of furry little mice. They scamper over the ground, hide in the greenery and sometimes scramble up the weedy shrubs. If we lived on certain tropical islands, we might mistake these secretive little mammals for tarsiers.
Several species, ranging in size from five to 10 inches, are at home in the forests of the East Indies, Borneo and various other Pacific islands. They have big Mickey Mouse ears, goggle eyes and little mouths that seem to smile. All of them wear fluffy coats of soft fur in some shade of brown or honey gold.
Though the average tarsier looks like a mousy character, he has monkey type hands and feet. And, like the monkeys, he is a born climber. He can jump a distance of six feet and usually leapfrogs from bough to bough. When he pauses to rest, the funny little elf turns his head around, in almost a complete circle.
One would expect this small fairy creature to dine on buds and dainty blossoms, with perhaps a few drops of dew. Not at all. The tarsier is a meat eater, a fierce little hunter of the night. His menu includes grubs and insects, small lizards and frogs, snails and perhaps a few baby birds.
By the light of the silvery moon, he sits down to dine on a vertical bough, holding his freshly caught food in one hand. He uses his sharp teeth to pull off chewable bites. And when the meal it over, he uses his sharp claws to clean and comb his thick fur. His many enemies include owls and often he sleeps with one of his huge eyes partly open.
Tarsiers are the smallest members of the primate monkey clan and even a baby tarsier is quite smart The furry midget is born with his eyes open, all ready to ride monkey style on his mother's back. When she leaves him home for a while, he sits pouting and softly squeaking until she returns. But if all goes well, he will grow up and live to a ripe old age of 12.